December 7 2021

Our final roundtable of 2021 invited participants to review the year by identifying major patterns and lessons to inform our thinking for 2022. Opening remarks were given by Rear Admiral Rtd. Dr. Chris Parry (former Director General of the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre at the UK Ministry of Defence and Director of Merl House).

State competition is clearly continuing to play out across multiple fields. As we continue to face into an increasingly uncertain and highly complex strategic environment, we discussed how strategic rivals and middle powers can cooperate to support overall economic prosperity and national security?; And how strategists can work to prevent the risk of miscalculation and escalation towards  crisis.

In the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis, countries across the globe are facing challenges in areas as diverse as emerging technologies and global technology governance; economic and technological competitiveness; environmental degradation and climate change; cyber and online influence activity; renewed attention on the space domain; transnational crime; supply chain security and energy demands. Major regional developments to examine include the long term implications associated with the withdrawal from Afghanistan; U.S.-China relations; the new trilateral arrangement, ‘AUKUS’, which not only focuses on nuclear-powered submarines but enhancing coordination on undersea security, cybersecurity and AI in the Asia Pacific region; and where Europe fits in the shifting puzzle of unipolarity vis-à-vis multipolarity?