John Raine is Senior Adviser for Geopolitical Due Diligence at IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies). He is researching current and emergent themes that cross geographic boundaries, namely the use of proxies, the use of non-kinetic force as a means of projecting power, and the potential of alternative approaches to conflict resolution. In addition, he is looking at how an understanding of these themes can help governments, armed forces and multinational businesses to mitigate risk. He joined the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1984, where he served for 33 years. His overseas postings included Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Baghdad and Islamabad. In addition to bilateral and multilateral diplomatic work, he worked extensively with UK Armed Forces on deployed operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and, in the UK, on strategy and future capabilities. As a senior member of the national security community he contributed to the design and implementation of UK defence and security strategy, and managed relationships with a wide range of international security partners.
