World Briefing 2026: Defence, Power and Public Interest

As a new year approaches, defence is one of the global issues defining our times. Major powers are rearming, conflicts are reshaping alliances, and governments are preparing for a more unstable international landscape. In the UK, this has driven a renewed focus on hard power, rising budgets, sharper rhetoric about external threats, and pressure to expand military capability.

What receives far less attention is the scrutiny behind these decisions: the assumptions shaping our threat assessments, the influence of the military-industrial sector, and the wider social and geopolitical costs, including the diminishing role of diplomacy, soft power and peacekeeping.

We bring together a panel to explore the balance between security and accountability, the role of media and politics in amplifying or distorting risk, and the interests that benefit from the current direction of travel. Is the UK accurately assessing the threat from Russia and China, or is public fear being amplified…