Apologies for the delayed update this week – was traveling in Paris last week which was a fascinating experience but inevitably nudged me a little behind.

Over the last 10 days, we’ve had some great updates on the PS21 website including this look at the current situation in the South China Sea. We also have the latest addition to our Imagining 2030 series, this time looking at the potential bleak future for young people in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, on Reuters.com, I’ve been looking at just how much worse 2016 could get, whether Vladimir Putin is really trying to get Donald Trump elected president and also examining what Americans really want from the world this election season.

PS21 is relatively light on events this August, but the one event we do have coming up in Whitehall on August 17 should be seriously good. If  the militant threat is the story of the summer – and that definitely feels like the case for now – it’s as good a panel as you could possibly expect.

We also have some really great events coming up for September including looking at potential scenarios for tensions in the Baltic states, I look back at 911 15 years on and a discussion on migration in Europe. Stay tuned for further details.

Peter Apps

Executive Director, PS21

Global affairs columnist, Reuters news

UPCOMING EVENTS

LONDON

The changing face of counterterrorism

Wednesday, August 17, 530 p.m. for 6 p.m. start. Whitehall – attendees to be notified of exact location

From Paris to Brussels,, Nice, Orlando and beyond, Western states appear to be facing an almost unprecedented tempo of militant attacks – although they pale in comparison to those in truly front-line nations such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria. With a growing number of such incidents apparently involving single radicalized individuals, often with mental health problems, how can one really define “terrorism”? And with recent attacks in Europe and North America now helping drive domestic politics, what can be done to protect civilians while avoiding further polarizing communities and deepening divisions?

Peter Apps [moderator] – executive director, PS21. Reuters global affairs columnist

Nigel Inkster – former deputy chief, MI6, now head of transnational threats and political risk for international Institute for Strategic Studies

Omar Hamid – former Pakistani police officer, now head of Asia-Pacific risk at IHS

Julia Ebner – policy analyst specializing in European militant threats, Quilliam Foundation

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