Strategy in the Spotlight
Culture, Comradeship and Capability in UK Defence and Security
I am delighted to have edited Strategy in the Spotlight, the latest collection of essays from the Centre for the Public Understanding of Defence and Security at the University of Exeter. Launched at the Royal United Services Institute on Friday 14 November 2025, with a Foreword by General (Retd) Sir Patrick Sanders, former Chief of the General Staff, the collection comprises the following essays:
Hugh Roberts, ‘Ukrainian Soldier Poets: the Cup of War’ introducing [dasein: defence of presence] by Yaryna Chornohuz of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Catriona Pennell. ‘How war has shaped British cultural memory.’
Catarina Thomson, ‘What kind of public opinion matters in time of conflict?’
Harry Pitts, ‘No such thing as whole-of-society? People, place and policy in the age of unpeace.’
Stefan Schilling, with Summer Bedford, Juliet Wakefield and Tarli Young, ‘Serving well, leaving well: why social connectedness matters across the defence lifecycle and beyond.’
Roo Haywood Smith, ‘The role of the Armed Forces Covenant in UK national defence and security.’
Frances Tammer, ‘UK Intelligence Community: looking behind the budgets, the clichés and the veil of operational security.’
Paul Hough, ‘Is America’s ‘last supper’ an inspiration for Europe?’
Peter Roberts, ‘UK Strategic Defence Review 2025: reach versus resources.’