The forthcoming national security strategy 2025: FAQ

On 25 February 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to publish a new national security strategy before the NATO summit (24 to 26 June 2025). This is in addition to the strategic defence review which the government commissioned in July 2024.

This briefing explains what a national security strategy is, sets out what major reviews and strategies are underway, and summarises recent iterations of national security strategies that have been published since 2010. The briefing also provides links to and commentaries of the national security strategies of selected countries.

What is a national security strategy?

A national security strategy sets out the government’s assessment of the UK’s role in the world, identifies current and future threats and risks to the UK’s national security, and explains how the government intends to keep the UK safe. The scope and format of these strategies have evolved over the last few decades.

Policy reviews and strategies underway

The Prime Minister said a new national security strategy will pull together the reviews under way that are relevant to national security.

Cabinet Office

• Resilience review

Ministry of Defence

• Strategic defence review
• AUKUS review
• Defence industrial strategy

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• Global Impact review
• Economic diplomacy review
• International development review
• Sanctions enforcement review
• China audit
• Africa consultation

Department for Business and Trade

• Trade strategy
• Industry strategy
• Critical minerals strategy

Home Office

• Counter-extremism sprint/review
• Countering State threats review

The list of reviews is not exhaustive. This does not necessarily mean that they will be included in the forthcoming national security strategy. Some may be published as stand-alone documents while others may remain internal government documents.

Past strategies

The format of a national security strategy is not uniform. Some governments have chosen to encompass national security, foreign, defence and development issues in one publication, others have preferred to publish a separate defence-orientated review. The names have also evolved to reflect these changes:

• 1998: Strategic defence review (SDR)
• 2008: National security strategy (NSS)
• 2010: National security strategy (NSS) and strategic defence review (SDSR) – published as two separate documents
• 2015: National security strategy and strategic defence and security review (combined as one document)
• 2021: Integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy
• 2023: Integrated review refresh

For 2025, the government has been using the terms national security strategy and strategic defence review.