UK Defence Policy, and the Political Management of 'Hybrid Threats'
Professor Andrew Mumford has worked with a range of international and national-level policymakers to impact the political management of conflict, especially ‘hybrid threats’.
He has influenced the development of practice within Parliament and contributed to the understanding MPs have of issues affecting the response to hybrid threats during a two-year Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Academic Fellowship (he was seconded on a part-time basis to the House of Commons International Affairs Unit), two appearances as an expert witness before the Defence Select Committee (whose inquiry into ‘Defence in the Grey Zone’ is ongoing), and conducting a private briefing for the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee.
He is also currently working with the joint EU-NATO Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki on a project designed to help recast the alliances deterrence strategy towards hybrid threats. This impact work was originally supported by a grant from the Research England Policy Support Fund. This has resulted in the (imminent) publication of a report for the EU-NATO centre on deterring hybrid threats. This publication has been the product of co-produced knowledge resulting from Professor Mumford’s work with practitioners in the centre as well as invited interactions with other policymakers in the project’s duration, including the Dutch Ministry of Defence and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Follow-on funding to help develop impact work on the deterrence of hybrid threats is currently being sought.