Read more about the article (De)-escalation in the Iran-Israel Conflict: An Analysis of the April 2024 Incidents and their Aftermath
Info Flash

(De)-escalation in the Iran-Israel Conflict: An Analysis of the April 2024 Incidents and their Aftermath

The Iran-Israeli conflict is a long-standing part of Middle Eastern politics that is rooted in a history of mutual hostility and mistrust. After decades of low-intensity hybrid conflict characterised by retaliatory strikes on and through proxies, mutual accusations of supporting terrorism, and other types of covert and hybrid warfare, a recent series of escalations culminated in the direct Iranian attack on Israeli territory on 13 April 2024, and Israel’s subsequent response on 19 April 2024. This exchange raised concerns over the possibility of region-wide conflict between the two states. The global community, including the U.S., the EU, and the UN have called for de-escalation to prevent further deterioration in the region’s security and stability. This paper looks at the events leading to the aggravation of the conflict, the responses from Iran and Israel, and the reactions from international players. It assesses the strategies employed, examining both military actions and diplomatic efforts, as well as the global and regional perceptions, and considers the possibilities for future (de)escalation. Ultimately, the research offers insights into the intricacies of the Iran-Israel conflict and its implications for regional stability in the Middle East.

Comments Off on (De)-escalation in the Iran-Israel Conflict: An Analysis of the April 2024 Incidents and their Aftermath
3 May 2024
Read more about the article Space Domain Awareness and the EU’s Securitization of Space
Info Flash

Space Domain Awareness and the EU’s Securitization of Space

Since the EU introduced the 2021-2027 Space Programme, it has assumed an entrepreneurial role in coining new concepts and terms to frame its increasingly versatile space activities. As the EU’s action in space gradually developed to increase new projects, so did the terminology employed in the EU’s official document addressing space affairs. In particular, the EU conceptual framework for space expanded to include comprehensive notions such as Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA) that add to the more pragmatic ones of Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) and Space Traffic Management (STM). This paper analyses how diverse notions have come to be in some of the EU’s space-related programmatic documents and how they relate to one another. Such an analysis is key to understanding the current trends of the EU’s action in space, trends which in turn imply restructuring the space policy governance.

Comments Off on Space Domain Awareness and the EU’s Securitization of Space
2 May 2024
Read more about the article Climate Justice and its implications on the EU Defence System: a legal analysis
Info Flash

Climate Justice and its implications on the EU Defence System: a legal analysis

The effects of climate change have become a solid reality that cannot be ignored for human life on Earth. Europe's shifting climate landscape sees a surge in legal battles, highlighting the deepening understanding of the link between environmental well-being and human rights.  This paper analyses the legal framework of so-called climate litigation, where organisations and interest groups litigate a lack of climate action on the part of governments, and its implications for and application to the Defence and Security sector. Indeed, due to the increasing number of legal challenges against governments and institutions for their inaction on climate change, there has been a growing awareness of their role in protecting citizens from increasingly frequent climate events. This awareness has impacted all areas of public governance, including defence. In fact, even the defence sector, faced with this worrying reality, has had to change itself and its practices to comply with the legal framework, which is composed not only of laws but also of judgments that are increasingly openly determining how the state and institutions have a duty to protect their citizens, through comprehensive action, from the reality of climate change.

Comments Off on Climate Justice and its implications on the EU Defence System: a legal analysis
30 April 2024
Read more about the article Back to Basics: Europe’s Struggles and Successes with 155mm Shell Production
Info Flash

Back to Basics: Europe’s Struggles and Successes with 155mm Shell Production

The early days of the war in Ukraine seemed to favour agile and relatively innovative capabilities which appeared to be the new protagonists of future battlefields. In fact, the fate of the war appeared to rest on Stingers and Starstreaks, Javelins and NLAWs, FPV commercial drones and on the Bayraktar TB2. However, as the chaotic first phase of the conflict ended, the focus shifted to the centuries-old king of battle: artillery. Much has been written on the rediscovered importance of artillery at the tactical and operational levels (Oltei, Potin, & Clarke, 2024). In contrast with the precision-oriented doctrine prevalent in the West, the war in Ukraine is revealing how precision- guided munitions can only complement and not substitute conventional indirect fire. The industrial capacity to produce this military ordinance en masse can indeed still determine victory on the battlefield. This analysis will thus focus on the 155mm NATO-standard artillery shell, the European states’ ability to produce it, and their significant shortcomings and progress.

Comments Off on Back to Basics: Europe’s Struggles and Successes with 155mm Shell Production
30 April 2024
Read more about the article Mobilising Artillery – Developments, Challenges and the Russo-Ukrainian War
Info Flash

Mobilising Artillery – Developments, Challenges and the Russo-Ukrainian War

As a key instrument in the long-range destruction, neutralisation, and suppression of enemy positions, artillery has long been indispensable in warfare, evolving from early contraptions used to hurl rocks and shoot arrows to the modern battlefield’s exceptionally mobile and accurate cannons launching highly explosive projectiles (Defense Technical Information Center, 1983). On the modern battlefield, artillery possesses several unique abilities. It can operate close to and in cooperation with ground forces to destroy and degrade enemy ground capabilities near the front lines, its range allows it to target vast swathes of territory with heavy indirect fire, it can be operated day and night, is fairly mobile, and can be concealed to boost survivability (McGrath, 2013).

Comments Off on Mobilising Artillery – Developments, Challenges and the Russo-Ukrainian War
26 April 2024