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Policy Briefs

Analysis from an LSE IDEAS academic, associate or guest contributor addressing an existing foreign policy issue or historical context theme - usually containing policy recommendations.

Recent Publications

  • On Wednesday 28 May 2025, at 15:24 local time, a substantial part of the Birch glacier in the Lötschen valley of the Swiss Alps detached and triggered a catastrophic rock-ice avalanche that obliterated most of the village of Blatten and nearby settlements (Büntgen et al., 2025a). An estimated 20 million tonnes of ice and rock travelled at a speed of up to 200 km per hour over 1200 m vertical distance to the valley floor and then nearly 200 m up the opposite slope of the valley. Preserved in Switzerland’s collective memory as the largest and most devastating ever monitored rock-ice avalanches, the Blatten disaster reveals the urgent need to improve research-based policy guidance for detecting, preventing, and managing multi-hazard cascades in steep terrain, including avalanches, debris flows, and glacial lake outburst floods. While continuous monitoring and effective risk management prevented mass casualties, most parts of the world lack the means and expertise to establish such early warning systems. This policy brief addresses the increasingly critical challenges that climate brings as it shapes our data-driven and globalised world, recommending pathways forward for policymakers to include harnessing both data and global cooperation.

    How climate shapes the world, why science is an art, and why free data access and international collaborations are essential.
    May 2026

    On Wednesday 28 May 2025, at 15:24 local time, a substantial part of the Birch glacier in the Lötschen valley of the Swiss Alps detached and triggered a catastrophic rock-ice avalanche that obliterated most of the village of Blatten and nearby settlements (Büntgen et al., 2025a). An estimated 20 million tonnes of ice and rock travelled at a speed of up to 200 km per hour over 1200 m vertical distance to the valley floor and then nearly 200 m up the opposite slope of the valley. Preserved in Switzerland’s collective memory as the largest and most devastating ever monitored rock-ice avalanches, the Blatten disaster reveals the urgent need to improve research-based policy guidance for detecting, preventing, and managing multi-hazard cascades in steep terrain, including avalanches, debris flows, and glacial lake outburst floods. While continuous monitoring and effective risk management prevented mass casualties, most parts of the world lack the means and expertise to establish such early warning systems. This policy brief addresses the increasingly critical challenges that climate brings as it shapes our data-driven and globalised world, recommending pathways forward for policymakers to include harnessing both data and global cooperation.

  • dart

    Women in Diplomacy: Targets and Quotas
    May 2026

    This policy brief from the Women in Diplomacy project addresses that gap, assessing the use and effectiveness of targets and quotas in tackling women’s underrepresentation in diplomacy. It draws on available academic and policy literature, as well as the lessons learned and best practices gathered through dialogues carried over the course of 2025 with women diplomats, experts and practitioners.

  • minds

    How climate shapes the world, why science is an art, and why free data access and international collaborations are essential.

    May 2026

    In March 2026, the LSE IDEAS Women in Diplomacy project published a research report on Strengthening the Representation of Women in Diplomacy) Alongside the report, we are producing four additional briefing papers, on mentorship, targets and quotas, handling the media, and work-life balance. While these topics are addressed in the report to some extent, they warrant deeper examination given their prominence in our research, allowing us to provide more evidence and best practices.

  • earth

    Time and Tide Wait for None: (Mis) Understanding the Changing Dynamics of World Order
    February 2026

    This policy brief is written by Richard Higgott.

  • data

    Energy Data Spaces and Market Power: a new challenge for data sovereignty and its governance

    January 2026

    This paper examines how the digitalisation of energy markets, driven by smart meter data and Energy Data Spaces, is reshaping competition in retail electricity services. It analyses the implications for market power, consumer outcomes, and data sovereignty, highlighting the regulatory challenges posed by data-driven business models that operate across national boundaries.

  • hands typing on laptop uk

    Taking Stock of Brexit
    January 2026

    This policy brief derives from the Research Report "Brexit - A Critical Audit", also authored by Iain Begg.

  • minerals

    Critical Minerals and the New Industrial Order
    September 2025

  • space policy

    The New Political Economy of Supply: resources, rare earths and finance
    August 2025

    This analysis traces the evolution of the space economy through three waves: first, government-driven programs focused on national security; second, the rise of commercial space ventures funded by private capital; and third, the "New Space" era since 2000, marked by investment from venture capitalists and private equity firms. It highlights how these shifts in the space economy align with changes in international relations and geopolitical dynamics.

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    Reflections on WTO Reform
    January 2025

    This special edition of our Expert Analysis presents four lectures (edited for publication) on World Trade Organization reform delivered by the author at LSE IDEAS during June-November 2022 and concluding in May 2023. The paper ends on a postscript reflecting on the perspectives on the different issues discussed in the lectures following the outcome of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in February-March 2024, as well as the November 2024 re-election of Donald Trump—on the basis of a disruptive trade policy agenda.


All Reports

Is the G7 still relevant?
March 2024

In the first of our new Expert Analysis series, former Italian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Raffaele Trombetta, draws on his career experience to answer the question of whether the G7 is still relevant in today’s international order. Detailing a narrative of the G7’s history, confronting its challenges, and addressing its common criticisms, this paper deals with the alternatives (G20 and BRICS), as well as where the G7’s interests should lie in future relations with China and the African nations.