Defence and Security

What are the key lessons to draw from the historical record regarding the role of civil resistance in helping to bring about democratic political change? What strategies of civil resistance are most likely to widen the political space within countries ruled by oppressive regimes and bring about democratic transformation? What are the possibilities for elaborating a normative framework regarding external support to civil resistance movements?
Location: Wilton Park

What is the political and military utility of nuclear weapons and how is it changing? Can a decline in nuclear salience be identified, and to what extent is it a conscious, planned process? In what states is it most, and least, pronounced? What salience do non-nuclear states attribute to nuclear weapons, and what are the perspectives on drawdown and reduced salience among such states with a US security guarantee? What of those aspiring to such a guarantee, such as Georgia and Ukraine? What is the prospect of a ‘deterrent marketplace’?
Location: Wilton Park

What have the experiences of developing countries been in confronting the challenges of violent internal conflict in the absence of an international security presence? How can developing country security forces, civilian agencies and political leaders work together most effectively to provide security, justice, social services and economic development in regions affected by internal conflict? How can international actors most usefully assist states facing domestic threats in manners that contribute to long-term peace-building?
Location: Wilton Park

This conference will address the international challenges surrounding the shifting focus of counter-proliferation in biological and toxic weapons. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), the principal international agreement on bio-weapons proliferation, has its five-yearly Review Conference in 2011, and its future along with the problem of increased risk of use will be addressed.
Location: Wilton Park

How do regional countries and organisations perceive their requirements for maritime security? What are the key capabilities needed to meet these requirements? What are the most effective ways that leading maritime powers and international maritime organisations can deliver assistance to help regional stakeholders build these capabilities? How can international maritime donors better prepare and organise themselves to deliver assistance to local capacity building efforts?
Location: Wilton Park

Wilton Park’s annual conference on the challenges confronting the global nuclear non-proliferation regimen is a fixture on the international calendar for this issue. This conference will focus on the implications of the 2010 Review, and topical areas of concern.
Location: Wilton Park