Deterrence in the Era of Unconventional Intervention
Funder: Research England - Research Policy Support Fund
Principal Investigator: Professor Andrew Mumford
Duration: August 2023 – June 2024
This research project aims to enhance understanding of how the rise of unconventional intervention has changed the nature of contemporary deterrence policy. ‘Unconventional intervention’ refers to how states leverage non-traditional means, including disinformation and sponsorship of proxies, to generate the ambiguous use of force.
This project aims to deliver both conceptual innovation and policy impact by working with the main branch of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) responsible for forging advances in thinking about deterrence – the ‘Exploration Division’ of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The central research question driving this project, co-produced with Dstl, is: How can non-military levers of power best contribute to deterrence of unconventional threats? The core objective is to determine whether the ambiguous use of force in the era of unconventional intervention is impervious to conventional forms of deterrence. This will be achieved by forging a collaborative working arrangement with Dstl and its international partners.
The project will produce written and oral briefings to Dstl staff and the facilitation of European and American fieldwork to bring wider NATO partners into the discussion.