About us
A strategic home for strategic minds
Founded in 2012 by Professor Gareth Stansfield and General Sir Paul Newton, the Strategy and Security Institute (SSI) emerged in response to the UK's strategic challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan. As national leaders questioned the UK’s capacity for long-term strategic planning, SSI was created to bridge the gap between academic rigour, professional education, and policy relevance.
From the outset, our mission has been to analyse global security challenges through interdisciplinary research and applied teaching. The launch of the MA in Applied Security and Strategy (MStrat) marked a bold step forward - combining theoretical depth with practical application to prepare graduates for real-world strategic leadership. Today, the MStrat is internationally recognised as one of the UK’s leading postgraduate programmes in strategic studies.
SSI staff actively engage with government, the military, and international organisations - advising departments such as the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We continue to work closely with senior leaders to inform the formulation and execution of strategy.
As global threats evolve - from great power conflict and cyber warfare to environmental instability and mass migration - our mission remains clear: To analyse, educate, and engage.
Our work is supported by a vibrant international network of experts, including honorary fellows and visiting professors from the fields of defence, intelligence, diplomacy, and academia.
SSI staff
Professor Anthony King was appointed as the Director in 2023.
The Strategy and Security Institute established in 2010 has become a leading centre for research and teaching especially with its flagship programme the MA in Applied Strategy. Professor King is currently revising and re-invigorating the MStrat, which will be re-launched for the 2025/26 academic year. The course provides students with an advanced academic understanding of strategy and uniquely it also trains students in the practical application of strategy with field trips, simulations and exercises. Professor King also aims to raise the research profile of SSI and is hoping to develop some major funded research programmes including a project on AI, security, and military decision-making. SSI is actively recruiting doctoral students in wide range of topics related to security.
Recordings:
December 2023: Professor King's inaugural lecture is available to view here.
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The Strategy and Security Institute exists to train our future leaders to give us all a ‘wiser future’. We do this through an interdisciplinary approach to inculcate a strategically educated mindset amongst our students: to be practical problem solvers, and to see opportunities where others only see difficulties. To this mindset we add a unique blend of practical strategic ‘tools’ drawn from the business and security and defence sectors. Our approach is to ‘educate the mindset and teach the skillset’, allowing our students to apply their knowledge, skills and behaviours to the complex and multifaceted challenges of the contemporary and future world.
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International politics is an anarchic realm that - unlike domestic politics - lacks a central authority capable of imposing security and order. As such, states must generate the power, guile, and strategic judgement to provide for their citizens’ security in a dangerous world. SSI was created to assist national security policymakers in fulfilling this grave task through theoretically rigorous yet practically applicable research and education. A decade on from its foundation, the Institute has established itself among the premier destinations for students and scholars intent on advancing international security through their understanding of prudent statecraft.
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I joined the University in November 2022, having previously worked as a senior civil servant and leader in the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office. I bring to the Strategy and Security Institute my global strategic, policy, intelligence and operational experience, derived from working across Government and with NATO, the EU, the UN, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and multiple international partners and coalitions. In the UK I have serviced Prime Ministers, Ministers and the National Security Council and Parliament. On the international stage, I have worked with Ambassadors, Ministers, Military Heads and senior Civil Servants.
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Affiliates
A Strategic Home for Strategic Minds
Knightley Building, home to the MStrat programme, offers more than just a teaching space -it provides a distinctive, professional environment that reflects the calibre and ambition of the programme itself. Nestled within the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus, Knightley is a former private residence dating back to the early 20th century. Today, as part of the Strategy and Security Institute, it offers a quiet, focused base for strategic thinking and peer collaboration.
This dedicated setting gives MStrat students a clear sense of identity within the University - away from large lecture theatres, yet firmly embedded in a world-class research environment.
Set within one of the UK’s most beautiful university campuses, Streatham combines landscaped parkland with state-of-the-art facilities and a vibrant academic community.
Learn more about Streatham Campus and its facilities.
