The Virginia Programme of the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies represents the primary conduit between the Centre and the United States of America.  It reflects the unique and enduring relationship between the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1607 to today.  The Programme acknowledges the imminent 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement and the significance of the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 which was a watershed after which the Armed Forces of both countries evolved in very different forms.  The Virginia Programme offers both a forum and mechanism through which the defence and security interests of the United Kingdom and United States can be exposed, addressed and blended.  The Programme also aspires to be an intellectual magnet to which the many defence and security agencies in Virginia will be attracted. 

The Virginia Programme reflects issues of mutual interest that include:

Intellectual Interoperability
The armed Forces of both countries think and act differently.  These differences owe their origins to history, culture, religion and technology.  The programme seeks to examine, explain and ultimately bridge these differences through a series of seminars, conferences and publications.

Insurgency and Peacekeeping
The Virginia Programme acknowledges the challenges of counter-insurgency and Peacekeeping Operations and seeks to relate the two dimensions.  The Programme addresses these two disciplines through the primism of "effect" at the strategic level and offers a dialogue through which national approaches may be blended.

History
The Virginia Programme seeks to illuminate and underpin the "special relationship" through the appropriate historical study of campaigns in which US and British forces have fought together.  CDiSS acknowledges that Anglo/American history lacks consistent exposure and aspires to act as an agent for dynamic study.