The world is more dangerous now than ever, with worrying upward trends in the estimated number of civilians being killed in conflicts around the world, and rising challenges posed by climate change, new technologies, disinformation and upcoming elections.  

To open our new series of Warpod, we look at the trends shaping contemporary security policy, at what’s changed and what hasn’t since our last episodes, and at some of the different approaches being taken to address the challenges facing the world today.  

To help us do this, we've interviewed two experts: 

• Lord Peter Ricketts, a former British diplomat of 40 years who was the UK’s first national security adviser and who now chairs the European Affairs Committee in the House of Lords.  
• Nargis Kassenova, a Senior Fellow and Director of the Programme on Central Asia at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. 

The discussion with our guests has been split into two parts. In this first episode our guests identify the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a key moment driving security trends. We explore rising defence spending and military build-ups in Europe and Central Asia, and discuss the risks of these approaches. In episode 2, we will look at the wider patterns of geopolitical competition and alliances, and we discuss some of the impacts of unreliable and inconsistent approaches to partnerships. 

Please note – the views, perspectives and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the views of Saferworld as an organisation.