Strategy and Security Institute (SSI)

Description

The Strategy and Security Institute (SSI) has a vibrant, collaborative, and interdisciplinary research culture that involves researchers and practitioners from across the spectrum of contemporary security issues. The international community associated with SSI has a commendable track record of winning external funding and promoting collaboration to make a real impact. The SSI is at the forefront of research into the drivers of strategic decision-making by civilian and military leaders, as well as planners in the foreign and defense policy domains. Their areas of expertise include:

• The cognitive drivers of leaders' behavior during international crises
• Rational choice and decision-making
• The psychology of coercion and deterrence
• The management and allocation of defense resources
• Military decision-making in history
• Classical theories of strategic choice
• The leadership and planning of complex modern military forces and operations

The contemporary international security environment presents a paradox. On the one hand, the global security situation, at least for developed states, remains relatively benign compared to the tense nuclear stand-off of the Cold War. On the other hand, the third post-Cold-War decade has brought a less benign strategic outlook, particularly for Western states, than the two preceding decades. SSI academics are at the forefront of this research agenda, seeking to understand the causes, consequences, and mitigation of many of today's most serious security problems.

Exeter works closely with the military legal community to investigate the evolution of the legal framework of warfare and the impact of law and legal processes on security policy and military operations. The decision to use organized violence in pursuit of strategic goals is not just a matter of political will and equipment; it is also governed by a system of social norms and processes, including a complex body of domestic and international law. While the growing impact of legal rules and processes promises to strengthen the rule of law at the international level, it also imposes operational burdens and strategic costs on the use of force. The extent to which these developments undermine operational effectiveness and constrain national security choices has become a question of immense significance.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University affiliation(s)

University of Exeter
Streatham Campus
Northcote House
Exeter
EX4 4QJ