Does the Trump Administration Have an Indo-Pacific Security Strategy?

More from Global Security Briefing All episodes →

1. 

   S1 · E110 · 29 Oct 2025 · 47 min

   The Return of America First: US Power and Influence in Latin America

   Trump's revived 'America First' policy is reshaping US-Latin America ties, testing regional stability, governance and the balance between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow. Nearly a year into his second term, President Trump has revived the 'America First' doctrine with a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere. As Washington prioritises border security, transactional diplomacy and strategic competition with China and Russia, Latin American governments are reassessing how to navigate a more conditional and bilateral US approach. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is…

2. 

   S1 · E109 · 15 Oct 2025 · 45 min

   Taiwan's Strategic Balancing Act Amid US-China Tensions

   Can Taipei maintain stability amid great power competition? Taiwan is facing rising Chinese pressure and increasingly uncertain US backing. As cross-strait tensions intensify, the central question for Taipei is whether it can maintain its delicate status quo. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Philip Shetler-Jones, Senior Research Fellow for Indo-Pacific Security at RUSI, to discuss Taiwan's strategic outlook following the Taipei Security Dialogue. - The discussion explores: - China's evolving strategy towards Taiwan, from military build-up to grey zone…

3. 

   S1 · E108 · 1 Oct 2025 · 44 min

   Trump's Stalled Peace Push and the Future of the Ukraine War

   As the end of the fourth year of the Russia-Ukraine war approaches, questions mount over President Trump's peace efforts and shifting international dynamics. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian Minister of Defence and now Chairman of the Centre for Defence Strategies in Kyiv, to assess where the war now stands. The discussion explores: - Russia's intensified military campaign and Ukraine's counterstrikes - The collapse of Trump's diplomatic effort after the Alaska summit with Putin - Europe's response after being…

4. 

   S1 · E107 · 17 Sep 2025 · 59 min

   Turkey's Balancing Act: Prospects for Stabilisation in Syria and Iraq

   Can Turkey act as a stabilising force in Syria and Iraq, or are its policies driven by short-term security concerns? As Ankara seeks to navigate the shifting geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, its approach to Syria and Iraq has become a key test of its regional influence. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI, Dr Serhat Erkmen, RUSI associate fellow and founder of the geopolitical risk consultancy, Pros and Cons, and Dr Oytun Orhan, Coordinator of Levant Studies at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies…

5. 

   S1 · E106 · 3 Sep 2025 · 48 min

   The UK's 2025 Carrier Strike Group Deployment and Britain's Indo-Pacific Tilt.

   The Royal Navy Fleet flagship in Asia prompts a critical question: How serious is Britain about the Indo-Pacific? Against a backdrop of deepening UK - Japan defence and economic ties, shifting US engagement, and growing regional security pressures, this episode of Global Security Briefing explores what the HMS Prince of Wales' 2025 mission reveals about the UK's approach to the Indo-Pacific. Host Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Philip Shetler-Jones to discuss how the deployment has been received in Japan and across the region, what has changed since the 2021 Royal Navy mission, and where…

6. 

   S1 · E104 · 9 Jul 2025 · 56 min

   Have the Recent Conflicts Transformed the Middle East?

   Open warfare has crossed the Middle East, and in its wake came an erosion of the norms of statesmanship and the power of international law to avert conflict. What are the implications for deterrence, diplomacy, and the future of UK, US, and regional strategy? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by RUSI experts Burcu Ozcelik and Michael Stephens to assess whether the Middle East is on the cusp of fundamental transformation or simply entering another volatile chapter. With the region rocked by Hamas' October 2023 attacks, a devastating war in Gaza, direct…

7. 

   S1 · E103 · 25 Jun 2025 · 48 min

   How Should the UK Approach European Security?

   How is the UK's Labour government approaching European security, and how does this compare to the Conservatives? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by Professor Richard Whitman to examine how much has changed since Labour came to power. The UK is currently setting a path to navigate an uncertain world in a series of major reviews - the Security and Defence Review has just been published, a new National Security Strategy was release, and a Defence Industry Strategy is due later in the year. But amid the flurry of Whitehall documents, Labour is under…

8. 

   S1 · E102 · 11 Jun 2025 · 40 min

   Can Russia-Ukraine Negotiations to End the War Succeed?

   Is there a real near-term prospect of an end of Russia's war against Ukraine? RUSI experts explain four and a half months of the Trump Administration's approach to the war. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by Professor Samuel Greene, who teaches Russian politics at King's College and is a senior fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, and Andriy Zagorodnuyk, Chairman of the Centre for Defence Strategies, Kyiv, who also previously served as Minister of Defence of Ukraine (2019-2020). They examine Trump's approach to the war, which initially…

9. 

   S1 · E101 · 28 May 2025 · 48 min

   Can Illiberal Peace Bring Stability to the Middle East?

   Can Peace Without Democracy Work? RUSI experts discuss the rise of illiberal peacebuilding in the Middle East and what it means for UK foreign policy. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by RUSI Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, Dr Claire Smith, Deputy Associate Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty Director of Postgraduate Research, University of York, and Dr Rana Khalaf, Research Consultant and non-resident fellow at the University of St Andrews, to examine how authoritarian approaches to conflict…

10. 

    S1 · E100 · 14 May 2025 · 40 min

    The Rise of a Fragmented and Contested World

    GSB turns 100: RUSI experts look back on key security shifts and explore what's next for the UK in a rapidly changing global landscape. In this special 100th episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by the RUSI International Security team to reflect on how global security has evolved since the podcast's launch in 2021. Recorded live in London, the episode examines a world marked by rising state-based wars, increasing military tensions, and the fragmentation of the post–World War II international order. From the Russia–Ukraine war and instability in the Middle East to…