Tackling Uncertainty? Best Practices & Challenges of Defence Planning & National Security Strategies
Channel: War Studies KCL
Date: 2022-12-15

Planning for the future is a core activity of security and defence sectors worldwide. Yet, the contemporary security landscape is uncertain and complex in nature. Fast-paced technological advancements, transnational security challenges, economic constraints, climate crisis, and great power competition are a few challenges on the horizon.

Hence, decisions on planning, designing and deploying military forces have become one of the most complex activities in the contemporary world. Policymakers and military planners must apply defence scenarios and foresight methodologies, complex systemic mathematical models, capability-based methods, and whole-of-government approaches to effectively try and tackle uncertain futures while dealing with a growing need to integrate security sectors into national security strategies.

Yet, despite how future-oriented these defence sectors are, military organisations are conservative in nature. Innovations and significant changes tend to take a long time to take effect. Conversely, societies demand fast responses to rising challenges in the security landscape. There lies the paradoxical nature of national security strategies and defence planning. Despite efforts to prepare for the future, when immediate challenges rise, a society must tackle them with the security forces planned years before.

This webinar discusses the challenges of defence planning and designing national security strategies in the contemporary world. The panel intends to draw lessons, best practices and difficulties from the United Kingdom and small states’ experiences to support the Brazilian National Defence College.

The panel will address a few of these questions, such as:

What are the contemporary global challenges and trends in defence planning and national security strategies?
What strategies and methods do defence sectors use to balance constraint budgets and a changing security environment?
How does the United Kingdom tackle these challenges?
How do small states tackle these challenges?
Panellists:

Dr Hillary Briffa is Lecturer in National Security Studies and the Assistant Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s College London, where she read for her Ph.D in War Studies, asking whether small states can have a grand strategy. She is also a founding member of the Centre for Grand Strategy, where she serves as the research lead for the Climate Change and International Order portfolio, and previously administered five editions of the annual summer school ‘The U.S., U.K., and World Order’ in partnership with the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas.

Professor Matthew Uttley has held the Chair in Defence Studies at King’s College London since 2005. He was formerly the Academic Adviser to the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies (2014-2015), and Academic Director of the Policy Institute at King’s (2012-2014). He was previously the Head of the King’s Defence Studies Department and Dean of Academic Studies at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham (2006-2012). Before joining King’s in 2000, he held academic posts at the Centre for Defence Economics, University of York (1992-1994) and the Department of Politics, Lancaster University (1989-1992).


Moderation:

Peterson Ferreira da Silva is a Professor at the Brazilian Defence College (ESD) since 2018. Professor at the Brazilian Air Force University Postgraduate Course (UNIFA/PPGCA). PhD in International Relations (University of São Paulo). MSc in International Relations San Tiago Dantas (Unesp/Unicamp/Puc-São Paulo). Coordinator of the Centre for Defence Economics and Force Development (NCAD) since 2020. Associate researcher at the Brazilian Army Centre for Strategic Studies between 2016 and 2018.

Raphael Lima is a PhD candidate at the Department of War Studies. He received his MSc. in International Relations from the Interinstitutional Program San Tiago Dantas (São Paulo State University, Campinas State University and PUC-SP) in 2015; and received his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from São Paulo State University in 2012. 

Institutional support


The event is part of a partnership between the Brazilian Defence College (ESD) and the King's College London School of Security Studies. The panel was organised jointly by ESD and KCL Latin American Security Research Group. The event also had institutional support from the Brazilian Air Force University (UNIFA) and the Brazilian research networks PROCAD-Astros and Pró-Defesa-Defense Economics.