Building societal resilience

Protecting critical undersea infrastructure

In 2025, RAND Europe examined critical undersea infrastructure (CUI): the cables and pipelines that sustain Europe’s energy and information connectivity. Disruptions can cascade across sectors, affecting banking, energy, defence, food supply and healthcare.

A perspective published in June set out Europe’s vulnerabilities and how governments, companies, the EU and NATO could respond. The research indicates that while most disruptions have historically stemmed from accidents or negligence, since 2022 hostile state and non-state activity has become a growing concern, enhanced by the proliferation of uncrewed vehicles. Key recommendations were submitted to the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) inquiry on undersea cables.

Loss-of-control risks from advanced AI

In a report funded by the UK government, RAND Europe examined risks and emergency response strategies for scenarios in which AI systems behave in unintended, dangerous ways beyond human control. The experts observed that such risks are increasingly plausible yet remain unaddressed, and identified early indicators of control-undermining capabilities – including deception, self-preservation and autonomous replication. The report recommends robust early detection, clear escalation protocols and coordinated mitigation.

Countering radicalisation

Responding to the Home Affairs Committee’s call for evidence on ‘Combatting New Forms of Extremism’, RAND Europe discussed how the internet and social media affect extremists’ ability to recruit, radicalise and engage audiences, and the effect of AI, large language models and deepfakes. The researchers noted that extremists operate across mainstream platforms, encrypted messaging apps and gaming servers, and capitalise on crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.