"Securing the State and its Citizens" by Paul O'Neil

Paul O'Neill has published an edited volume with Bloomsbury: Securing the State and its Citizens: National Security Councils from Around the World.

Through a uniquely extensive study of countries from across the world, this book considers how nations have developed bespoke coordination mechanisms to the unique threats they face, and how these mechanisms have had to evolve as the threats change. It covers nations for whom the system is well established (e.g. the US in 1947) and other countries whose arrangements are more recent, such as the UK (2010). Where the National Security Councils have existed for longest, the case studies highlight how they have transformed as the national understanding of security has changed, typically to reflect a broadening. Consequently, while there are no universal solutions, the comparative approach taken in this book identifies enduring principles for shaping the creation or reform of national security coordination fit for the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Paul O'Neill is a former CCW Visiting Fellow. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Military Sciences at RUSI with research interests in organisational aspects of security and Defence including organisational design and decision making. Previously, a senior Royal Air Force officer working in strategy and human resources roles across Defence including in Whitehall. He led the military team in Defence Strategy and Priorities during the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.