The Azure Forum Strategic Insights provide regular applied policy commentary on timely national and international peace and security issues written by our own analysts or leading experts from the public and private sector. The series aims to focus on issues relevant to Ireland, small states and the international community to navigate an interconnected but increasingly polarised world.

Authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of The Azure Forum. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from The Azure Forum and due recognition to the author(s) and The Azure Forum.

Please contact the editorial team at info@azureforum.org if you would like to pitch an idea and publish a commentary on a timely policy debate. Please find style guidelines here.

COMBATTING MODERN SLAVERY AND EXPLOITATION IN CORPORATE SUPPLY CHAINS | MARC STAUNTON | 14 DECEMBER 2023

ALEXA ACTIVATE CYBER RESILENCY | DAVID J. HICKTON | 07 DECEMBER 2023

‘FOLLOW THE MONEY’ … BUT HOW FAR? TACKLING TRANSNATIONAL ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS THROUGH IRELAND | ALEXANDER CHANCE | 30 NOVEMBER 2023

MANDATES FOR EXTENSIVE VULNERABILITY REPORTING UNDERMINE CYBERSECURITY | NICK ASHTON-HART | 23 NOVEMBER 2023

CASUALTIES AND CONFLICT: GAZA AND UKRAINE | LAWRENCE FREEDMAN | 16 NOVEMBER 2023

THE ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS OF A GEOPOLITICAL EU | EOIN DREA | 09 NOVEMBER 2023

THE AI SAFETY SUMMIT AND SECURITY: GOVERNANCE IS VITAL BUT COHERENCE WILL BE HARD TO FIND | PATRICK HINTON | 31 OCTOBER 2023

CONTESTATION AND CONFUSION: IRISH CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY FINDINGS | BEN TONRA | 25 OCTOBER 2023

The new Czech national security strategy: A wake-up call in a tumultuous world | Katarina Hynkova | 28 September 2023

Preventing violent extremism in the Western Balkans and MENA region urgently needs a new approach | Maja Halilovic Pastuovic | 21 September 2023

THE 2023 BUCHAREST SUMMIT: STEPPING UP THE SECURITY DIMENSION OF THE THREE SEAS INITIATIVE | LAURENȚIU-MIHAI ȘTEFAN | 31 AUGUST 2023

BUILDING AN IRISH INTELLIGENCE SERVICE | DAVID-STRACHAN-MORRIS | 03 AUGUST 2023

RE-EXAMINING SINO-RUSSIA RELATIONS IN THE SHADOW OF THE UKRAINE WAR | JAMES CHAR | 27 JULY 2023

THE RETURN OF LATIN AMERICA’S MILITARY PROBLEM | GABRIEL COHEN | 20 JULY 2023

BELARUSIAN NUCLEAR FORCES? ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON NATO NUCLEAR SHARING | IAN O’CONNOR | 13 JULY 2023

STRENGTHENING THE INDO-PACIFIC MARITIME SECURITY COOPERATION BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND EUROPE | JIHOON YU | 06 JULY 2023

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN SECURITY AND DEFENCE: PREPARING FOR ‘KNOWN UNKNOWNS’ | CAITRÍONA HEINL | 29 JUNE 2023

THE REFRESH OF THE BRITISH INTEGRATED REVIEW: EUROPEAN ASPECTS | PADDY MCGUINNESS | 15 JUNE 2023

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE: CENTRAL ASIA’S ECONOMIC AND SECURITY DILEMMAS AFTER RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE | MARIYA Y. OMELICHEVA | 08 JUNE 2023

WILL THE HIGH SEAS TREATY PROVIDE THE PROTECTION NEEDED FOR OUR OCEANS BEYOND NATIONAL JURISDICTION IN THE FUTURE? | MARK MELLETT | 01 JUNE 2023

ETHIOPIA’S PEACE DEAL: PROSPECTS FOR THE POST-CONFLICT TRANSITION AFTER THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES | FAITH MABERA | 25 MAY 2023

UPPING THE ANTE ON EU CYBER DEFENCE: WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT FROM OUR CAPITALS? | CAITRÍONA HEINL | 18 MAY 2023

IRELAND’S PLACE IN THE GLOBAL COCAINE TRADE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC SECURITY | ALEXANDER CHANCE | 11 MAY 2023

RUSSIAN MILITARY DEBATES AI DEVELOPMENT AND USE | SAMUEL BENDETT | 4 MAY 2023

A PRIMER ON THE FIRST EVER EUROPEAN SPACE STRATEGY FOR SECURITY AND DEFENCE | PETER O’HALLORAN | 27 APRIL 2023

Disrupting ransomware | David J. Hickton | 20 April 2023

DIVERGENT APPROACHES TO TRAFFICKING FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: AUSTRALIA AND IRELAND | MEAGAN TYLER & RUTH BRESLIN | 13 APRIL 2023

REFLECTIONS ON ELECTED UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS’ IMPACT | 30 March 2023

GOVERNANCE OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY: MATURING YET NASCENT MILITARY AI-CYBER POLICY HAS FAR TO GO | CAITRÍONA HEINL | 23 MARCH 2023

Countering the Irish far-right: A transnational threat requiring international coordination | Joshua Farrell-Molloy | 16 March 2023

WE MUST TREAT CYBER WARS THE SAME AS WE TREAT CONVENTIONAL MILITARY ENCOUNTERS | David J. Hickton | 09 March 2023

U.S.-CHINA FRICTION AND THE COMPETITION FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE LEADERSHIP | JACKSON EWING | 28 FEBRUARY 2023

Some realities for the defence of an island behind an island | Mark Mellett | 14 February 2023

ASEAN Chairmanship is a different animal than the G20 Presidency | Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma | 26 January 2023

The 2022 US National Security Strategy: An Indian Perspective | Sarabjeet S Parmar | 30 November 2022

Assessing China’s Nuclear Trajectory |
Ian O’ Connor | 09 November 2022

21ST CENTURY STATECRAFT AND CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER | DR. LYDIA KOSTOPOULOS | 03 NOVEMBER 2022

THE SECOND UKRAINE WAR: LEARNING LESSONS FROM AN ONGOING CONFLICT | DR. TIMOTHY D. HOYT | 28 OCTOBER 2022

Incorporating cybersecurity into EU policy formation | Paddy McGuinness | 25 March 2022

MATURING NATIONAL RESPONSES TO HYBRID INFLUENCING AND CYBER THREATS: A PRIMER ON FINLAND’S APPROACH | JARMO SAREVA AND LIISA TALONPOIKA | 02 March 2022

DETERRING RANSOMWARE ATTACKS: TREAT RANSOMWARE AS CRIMINALITY | PADDY MCGUINNESS | 16 February 2022

EU CSDP MISSION REFORM AND IRELAND’S CONTRIBUTION | AONGHUS KELLY | 28 June 2021

“THE EU DOESN’T STOP AT THE WATER’S EDGE”: EU-INDIA AND THE INDO-PACIFIC
JOHN-JOSEPH WILKINS | 28 April 2021

EMERGING AI GOVERNANCE FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: THE STAKES AND STAKEHOLDERS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Zoe Stanley-Lockman | 10 March 2021

IDENTITY POLITICS, NEUTRALITY AND THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT REFERENDUM: LESSONS FOR MODERN IRELAND
Jack McCarthy | 03 March 2021

CORRUPTION, ORGANISED CRIME AND CONFLICT IN MOZAMBIQUE: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL DONORS | Alexander Chance | 17 February 2021

CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES AND THE INDO-PACIFIC: THE ‘DIGITAL QUAD’
Trisha Ray | 10 February 2021

MALICIOUS CYBER ACTIVITY IN THE COVID-19 ERA
Steve Honiss | 3 February 2021

STRATEGIC AUTONOMY AS ANTI-PROTECTIONISM
Jens Hillebrand Pohl | 30 November 2020

EUROPEAN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY: A TROJAN HORSE
Michael Murphy | 23 November 2020

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EUROPEAN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN THE SHADOW OF COVID-19: THREE LESSONS AND ONE CONCLUSION
BEN TONRA | 16 NOVEMBER 2020

COVID AND EUROPE’S STRATEGIC AWAKENING
Daniel Fiott | 11 November 2020

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY AFTER COVID-19: POTENTIAL OUTLOOK
David Ramirez | 7 October 2020

SECURING THE COMMON TRAVEL AREA IN 2021
Edward Burke | 02 October 2020

TRADE AND STRATEGIC OVERRELIANCE ON GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS: A NEW PHASE IN GLOBALISATION?
Gareth Prendergast | 28 September 2020

Winston Wenyan Ma | The rise of sovereign funds: Foreign takeover tensions exacerbated by Covid-19 | 27 July 2020

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Paddy McGuinness | Combatting low cost foreign takeovers of vulnerable companies in medical and strategic sectors in the wake of Covid-19 – New powers are not enough | 10 July 2020

Developing an effective security strategy in Ireland: Lessons from the cyber domain | Caitríona Heinl | 02 March 2020

The Azure Forum Strategic Insights