Debriefing the latest UK Strategic Defence Review

About this episode

The episode discusses the 2025 UK Strategic Defence Review and its implications for military strategy and international relations.

The was much to like about the 2025 UK SDR: an uncomfortable but honest diagnosis of the state of Britain's military; a characterisation of the world order and future threats; and a vigour to addressing the challenges. Professor Paul Cornish from the University Of Exeter's Centre for the Public Understanding of Defence and Security picks apart the issues in the document, as well as what was not in it. If 'Who was it for?' is perhaps the most revealing question and answer, then 'So what will Allies and adversaries make of it?' is the most worrying aspect. For those who think Paul and the team at CPUDS couldn't do better, the link below takes you to a series of essays that articulates a different take on the challenges and responses written over a couple of weeks during the Winter of 2024/2025. Writing a defence review is tough but not impossible. https://paulcornish.substack.com/p/uk-strategic-defence?utm_campaign=reaction&utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack&utm_content=post

People in this episode

Host: Peter Roberts

Guest: Paul Cornish

Topics covered

• UK Strategic Defence Review
• military analysis
• future threats
• international relations
• defence challenges

Keywords

• UK SDR
• military
• defence review
• Paul Cornish
• threat assessment
• international allies
• security challenges

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University Of Exeter's Centre for the Public Understanding of Defence and Security

Places: UK

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