John Sawers, former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), shares his insights on how security threats have evolved with the rise of digital technologies and social media. In this interview, he offers a compelling exploration of the shift from traditional methods to contemporary security challenges. Sawers examines how intelligence approaches have adapted to address new threats, including the influence of social media on democratic processes and the evolving global geopolitical landscape. The discussion provides An insightful analysis of the current dynamics in intelligence work and highlights the critical issues facing intelligence services in an increasingly interconnected and digital world.
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October 6, 2017This Policy Brief highlights the depths of the Sahel crisis. Some aspects of the crisis, such as extremist violence, migration, transnational crime and precariousness, are in fact symptoms of a disease that will only get worse if the real and deep causes are not addressed. Exploring the case of the G5 Sahel as a framework for the convenience of study and analysis does not imply that the crisis is limited to the five countries that are part of the G5 Sahel. Indeed, while specificitie ... -
August 25, 2017The current economic, political and geo-strategic dynamics, centered on the major regional groups, announce a reconfiguration of the international order in which Africa is called to play an important role through its main continental institution which is the Union African Union (AU). The AU is increasingly emerging as the continent's platform with foreign partners, and continues to face problems of dependence, governance and leadership. Therefore, in a critical and forward-looking a ... -
August 22, 2017This paper reports on the vital relationship between government and defence industries, and how the core features necessary for defence and security capabilities can be delivered in the national interest. The paper will examine how a defence acquisition process can be set up so as to enable defence businesses to thrive within and beyond national borders, and to ensure that they support the forward plans of government, the military and security services. Taking a seven stage approac ... -
August 4, 2017La Conférence Annuelle Africaine Sur la Paix et la Sécurité (APSACO), organisée par l’OCP Policy Center, s’est tenue les 10 et 11 juillet à Rabat. Cette première édition portant sur l’autonomie stratégique de l’Union Africaine (UA) avait pour but principal de mener une réflexion sérieuse et constructive sur les différentes options probables et réalistes de la montée en puissance de cette organisation internationale comme acteur autonome, mais interdépendant avec le monde. La Confére ... -
July 31, 2017The African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO), organized by the OCP Policy Center, was held from July 10 – 11, 2017 in Rabat. This first edition, focusing on the African Union’s (AU) strategic autonomy, aimed to facilitate a serious and constructive consideration of the various probable and realistic options for the rise of this international organization as an autonomous entity that is globally interdependent. The conference also aimed at launching a deep African debate ... -
July 7, 2017Ce Policy Brief traite de l’articulation entre le développement et la sécurité dans le bassin méditerranéen, ainsi que de l’implication des pays des deux rives, nord et sud, dans un partenariat assurant la sécurité nécessaire à un développement socio-économique conjoint. Les pays du Sahel prennent également part à l’analyse et conditionnent le succès des stratégies sécuritaires au Maghreb et au sein de l’Union Européenne. Le papier revient sur des exemples de pays riches mais frappé ... -
June 20, 2017The United States and Europe share a common interest in addressing the growing terrorist threats from North Africa. The emergence of ISIL as a force in the region — notably in Libya, but also in Egypt and to a lesser degree in Tunisia, Algeria, and Mali — is cause for genuine concern. The ISIL challenge is compounded by the persistence of older terrorist organizations, both local ones such as the region’s various Ansar al Sharias as well as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al ... -
June 14, 2017Le débat sur la défense est plus que jamais d’actualité dans un contexte mondial évolutif animé par la reconfiguration continue des équilibres géostratégiques et par le poids des conséquences de la crise économique et financière sur le budget des Etats : les politiques de défense seront-elles adaptées à leurs taches de demain ? Les stratèges des Etatsmajors auront-ils les moyens suffisants pour négocier efficacement le processus d’adaptation ? Outre la modernisation des systèmes d’a ... -
June 14, 2017The debate on defense is more relevant than ever in an evolving global context that is driven by the constant reconfiguration of geostrategic equilibriums and by the importance of the impacts of the economic and financial crisis on States’ budgets leading to pertinent questions such as: will defense policies be adapted to their future tasks? Will the military leaders’ strategists have sufficient means to effectively negotiate the adaptation process? In addition to the modernization ... -
May 05, 2017This podcast is performere by Mr. Eamiliano Alessandri. While possible, prospects for repairing existing fractures through multilateral dialogue and compromise have become elusive as cris ...
