(C) Alec Muffett's DropSafe blog.
Author Name: Alec Muffett
This story was originally published on allecmuffett.com. [1]
License: CC-BY-SA 3.0.[2]
 

Uniting Nationalism and Threat Perception for Total Defence

2026-08 

Sweden has demonstrated that clearly communicating a crisis to the public, and giving them the agency to respond to it, can be successful. While the UK does not share a border with Russia, nor with any of the other current adversaries threatening British security, the country is being targeted all the same and the public needs to be aware if they are going to be involved in total defence. Any pamphlet the UK government publishes must address growing grey-zone threats head-on, and create a level of urgency for the public to respond.

As in Sweden, the pamphlets should be printed in several languages and emphasise national pride, empowering people throughout the country to join in a whole-of-society approach to defence. This approach ensures that the government’s urgent mobilisation message reaches everyone, regardless of language and access to the internet, which disproportionately affects minority communities.

Distribution of physical pamphlets should also be supplemented with an accessible online presence. The pamphlet should be uploaded to the government’s emergency preparedness website (prepare.campaign.gov.uk). Physical pamphlets should refer to this website, and efforts should be made on social media to increase online awareness of the site, as it is not well-known outside of policy circles. The UK could also showcase its strategic technological advantage by employing an AI assistant on the site. This assistant could synthesise information from the pamphlet and the rest of the website, and answer common questions from concerned citizens, such as ‘how can I get involved, given my job/age/beliefs?’

Conclusion

Total defence is the best strategy to increase the UK’s resilience to threats from malign actors. Given the wide range of these threats, the entire British public needs to feel responsible for, and participate in, the nation’s defence.

This article argues that pairing a strong sense of civic nationalism with an enhanced perception of the threats to the UK will increase the British public’s willingness to participate in total defence. In recent years, the UK government has been hesitant to fully and honestly communicate the scale of the threat posed by Russia and other adversaries because officials are concerned about inducing panic. However, Sweden and other countries have proven that, when given the right tools, the public can and should be trusted to participate in their own defence.

As debates continue about how best to fund and design a shared UK national defence, the public should be at the forefront – empowered, willing and prepared to defend their nation against rising threats.

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[1] URL: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/uniting-nationalism-and-threat-perception-total-defence
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