Leadership
As Director of the International Security and Conflict Programme at the Centre for International Security and Economic Strategy, Mabel Runyon leads the programme’s research direction, supporting the production of policy briefs and reports on geopolitical risk, strategic competition, conflict, and state behaviour.
She is currently a MA candidate in War Studies at King’s College London. Her work focuses on state behaviour, international security, and contemporary warfare, with research interests in the High North and Eastern Flank regions. She holds a BA in International and Comparative Politics from the American University of Paris, graduating with honours.
Mabel has experience across multinational security and defence environments. As part of Exercice Coalition, a yearly multinational military training exercise that simulates conflict, Mabel has worked closely alongside senior officers at the L’École de Guerre in France since 2024. Most recently, she was appointed to a NATO STO task group, researching the future security environment of the High North, shaping long-term Allied policy and doctrine.
As a student in London, she has been an active member of the Wargaming and Defence Strategy Division of the Institut des Hautes Études de Défense Nationale’s (IHEDN) UK Youth Delegation, contributing to Franco-British defence and security initiatives alongside other students and professionals. At present, she is completing her dissertation on Eastern Flank security, informed by her participation in the U.S. National Security Language Initiative for Youth’s Russian track.
“As the Director of the International Security and Conflict Programme, I’m looking forward to exploring how strategic competition and state behaviour are increasingly shaped by emerging technologies and the changing character of war. I would like to see engagement with research and analysis of international security and conflict from a diverse approach, with the aim of incorporating methodologies such as red teaming or net assessment to better understand the behaviour of state actors. As the programme grows, I’m looking forward to supporting research that can advance our understanding of the international security environment, both present and future.