Rwanda’s Campaign in Mozambique as a Counterinsurgency Case Study: A Radical Approach?

Rwanda’s campaign against the Islamic State in Mozambique since 2021 has attracted widespread praise from the international community. Characterised by civilian protection, its approach saw widespread success in pushing back jihadists in Mozambique. This was argued by some to act as a blueprint for future counterinsurgency campaigns, in stark contrast to recent Western efforts (ADF, 2023) and raises the question of whether Rwanda has adopted a radically different approach to counterinsurgency. This paper will examine the operations of the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) in northern Mozambique as a case study of an effective counterinsurgency campaign. It will begin by overviewing Rwandan operations in Mozambique, before examining how their approach aligns with counterinsurgency theory and recent Western examples. Finally, it explores the RDF’s the longer-term chances of success as a further test of theory and as another point of comparison with Western operations.

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Illusory or substantive? Analysing the European Union’s Support to the International Criminal Court

This paper explores whether the European Union’s support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) is substantive or illusory. By examining legal and policy commitments alongside the case studies of Ukraine and Libya, the research shows that EU support is context-dependent. In Ukraine, where judicial and political interests align, the EU provides tangible, substantive support. In Libya, stability and migration control take precedence, resulting in symbolic engagement and undermined cooperation. The paper argues that this difference stems from differing institutional logics: generally, the ICC pursues principles of justice and fairness, while the EU often prioritises political consequences.

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Toward Hybrid Deterrence: Conceptual Foundations and the Evolution of NATO Response

Hybrid threats, leveraging ambiguity and asymmetry, increasingly challenge NATO’s deterrence and credibility. This paper critically examines NATO’s doctrinal evolution and responses to hybrid threats since first acknowledging cyber challenges in 2002. Despite doctrinal progress and tools like Counter-Hybrid Support Teams (CHSTs) and initiatives such as Baltic Sentry, NATO’s response remains largely reactive and fragmented, activated only post-crisis rather than proactively deterring threats. Ambiguous attribution and contested thresholds further hinder collective action. The analysis highlights persistent strategic gaps and concludes by asserting that credible hybrid deterrence cannot be improvised post hoc but must be embedded systematically into NATO’s doctrine and operational architecture, a concept that will be further developed in a forthcoming companion article.

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The Modernisation of the Estonian Armed Forces – A New Approach to Baltic Security

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked a renewed concern for Baltic security. Given the hard-earned independence process of Baltic countries, Russia’s aggression and hostile rhetoric push Baltic countries to boost their defensive capabilities. Until 2022 (or the Annexation of Crimea in 2014), Baltic states have relied heavily upon ally stationing and hosting NATO troops in joint operations. However, with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the defence strategy of these countries quickly shifted towards increasing their offensive measures and modernising the current inventory. While Baltic countries have always cooperated in many fields since their independence (Vaiksnoras, 2002), military spending requires national-level importance and adaptation. Between Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, the case of Estonia carries specific attention, as it is the smallest nation (population approx. 1.3 million) and has the highest GDP per capita. The economic advantage also pushes the Estonian Government to test different approaches to the concept of military strategy and be able to deliver better technological advancement to its units.  Estonia’s approach to security presents an interesting case for the Baltic security framework. Unlike traditional firepower or manpower superiority, Estonia relies on a civil-military orientation strategy in which the concept of security expands in different domains (Karabeshkin, 2007). Like the Finnish model, Estonia applies mandatory military service to every male citizen after the age of 18, which enables the mobilisation of the nation as a reserve in case of war, even after military service is finished (Besch & Westgaard, 2024). The Estonian conscription system is also made-up of a part-time volunteer body, which is composed of citizens wishing to stay in the military after their service, and receiving military training for war or crisis management cases. Women can also be a part of the volunteer service under Naiskodukaitse (Women`s voluntary defence organization), taking different roles (Kaitseliit, n.d.) However, the country’s successful branding as an internet-intelligent nation also allows for the local development of technological domains in the defence sector, such as cybersecurity, AI or robotics  (Jermalavičius & Hurt, 2021). The recent success of first-person view (herein FPV) drones, integration of cyber defence command chain and volunteer units with technological know-how are all part of this new “modernisation” process that this paper will discuss.

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Finabel’s Space Handbook

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and Europe’s changing security environment, space has become ever more significant in the field of defence and security. Today, the spatial context has moved beyond the binary Soviet-American dynamic of one-upmanship experienced during the Cold War. Greater acknowledgement of the domain’s importance to modern society has led to a renewed look at space within military affairs in recent years, spurring the formal recognition of space as an operational domain by NATO allies in 2019 (Eagleson, 2023). This paper explores various strands of the strategic domain of space in the European context, involving analyses ranging from explorations of the sector’s legal dimensions to a further dive into the lessons learned from the Russo-Ukrainian War in the realm of space.

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