By Alina Vey Security policy carries a profound responsibility towards the people who bear its consequences: civilians whose lives depend on effective protection, and service personnel entrusted with carrying out decisions made by political leaders. Governments must provide credible defence while pursuing credible diplomatic avenues to prevent a wider conflict. Military preparedness and diplomacy should…
Wartime Legitimacy, Leadership Continuity and the Challenges of Negotiated Peace By Alina Vey | 12 October 2026 Introduction: The Dilemma of Prolonged Conflict One of the most complex challenges in international relations is not simply how wars begin or how they are fought, but how political systems transition from the demands of wartime resistance to…
“Security depends upon preparation.Preparation depends upon institutions.Institutions depend upon people.” — Alina Vey, The Hollow Shield There is a tendency to think about national security in terms of what can be seen: armed forces, aircraft, ships, intelligence systems, technology and the infrastructure that supports them. These capabilities matter. But they represent only the visible part…
Artificial intelligence has become one of the most visible signs of a much larger transformation. It is now being discussed not simply as a new technology, but in relation to international affairs, economic change, security, governance and the future of human society. The recent attention given to AI at the United Nations is one indication…
The New Great Game is increasingly being played through technology By Alina Vey, 23 September 2026 ————————————————– Artificial intelligence is often discussed as a technological revolution. But increasingly, it is becoming something else as well: a question of power. As the United States and China prepare for a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping…
-Alina Vey Artificial intelligence is increasingly being discussed as more than a technological development. It is becoming a question of international governance, economic power, security and the future relationship between states. The technology itself is developing across borders. Research is international, companies operate across jurisdictions, data moves between countries, and the consequences of increasingly capable…
by Alina Vey Introduction Historical comparison is useful when it is treated as a study of patterns rather than a prediction of outcomes. The circumstances that preceded the First and Second World Wars were different from one another, and neither can be mapped directly onto the present. Yet both periods reveal how rivalry, military preparation,…
By Alina Vey17 September 2026 · Geopolitics & International Affairs For much of modern history, war had a recognisable form. Armies crossed borders. Aircraft entered airspace. Ships confronted one another at sea. Infrastructure was destroyed, territory was occupied and governments formally acknowledged that a state of war existed. Today, that distinction is becoming increasingly difficult…