War Studies

“Seeing the carnage outside beamed instantly into my living room via satellite TV really drove home the realisation that I was indeed witnessing the first fully mediatised war.” In special episode marking 30 years since the end of the 1990-91 Gulf War, Dr Carool Kersten, Reader in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World at King’s College London, who was based in Saudi Arabia during the conflict, j...

"Only a week earlier I’d been pushing my daughter on a swing in England, within a few days I was also already playing my part in shaping the Balkans’ newest independent country.” In this podcast Ade Clewlow MBE, former British Army Officer and alumnus of the Defence Studies Department at King’s discusses his new book ‘Under a Feathered Sky’, a unique, first-hand account of his work on the ground s...

In just four short years the Trump administration overturned the foundational national narrative of American exceptionalism – the US’ reputation as global exemplar and promoter of democracy. Far from drawing distinctions between the US and authoritarian states like Russia, he tried to show equivalence, marking a start contrast with every one of his predaceous since the end of the Cold War. As Bide...

Who were the shadowy figures and unsung heroes that lay behind the extraordinary story of the Norwegian resistance during World War II? What were the extreme conditions they worked under? And how did they contribute to major allied intelligence-gathering operations, including helping to stall German efforts in producing atomic bombs? In this episode we speak to Dr Tony Insall, Senior Visiting Rese...

‘We are telling a story as great as that of the Bible’, wrote Tony Essex to Gordon Watkins in 1964. These television producers had been given the opportunity of a lifetime - to bring to life the first major multi-episode television documentary on the Great War for the 50th anniversary. In this episode, we talk to Dr Peter Busch, historian and expert in propaganda and strategic communication, about...

In the final episode of our special three-part series celebrating 20 years since resolution 1325 was passed by the UN Security Council on Women, Peace and Security, we take a look at how we can help shape reform in moving Global North policy, dominating WPS, to more grassroots and how we can push the agenda in communities of the Global South. Although the WPS agenda has led to significant changes...

How do secular Jewish Israeli millennials feel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? How has coming of age during a series of wars, in which many of them fought, and the shadow of the failed Oslo Peace Process impacted this generation? Why have their attitudes changed so significantly since their parents’ youth, that they no longer believe in a two state solution and see Occupation as ‘reasonabl...

In the second episode of our three-part series celebrating 20 years of Women, Peace and Security (WPS), we look at the escalating threat that private companies, hired to provide military and security services, pose to the rights of women and minorities in conflict settings. This privatisation of war can have incredibly damaging consequences. Private companies often occupy a murky territory outside...

In 2001 Tony Blair introduced what would become a controversial, expensive and ultimately disastrous policy programme to stamp out the drugs trade in Afghanistan in just ten years. Dr Philip Berry, Lecturer in War Studies, joins us to discuss his new book, ’The War on Drugs and Anglo-American Relations: Lessons from Afghanistan’, which reveals the inside story on the Blair Government's mission to...

31 October 2020 marks 20 years since resolution 1325 was passed by the UN Security Council on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). In a special three-part podcast series, we’re celebrating this landmark achievement by looking at how the WPS agenda can support women’s struggle for better inclusion and representation in matters relating to international conflict and peace, over the next 20 years. In thi...

Cold War Moscow was a place like no other. The eyes and ears of the Soviet secret police, the KGB, were everywhere; the only place that was really safe, one political prisoner would later write, was in your dreams... Professor Mike Goodman, Head of the Department of War Studies, and expert in the history of intelligence joins us for the first episode in our new series. We discuss who were the indi...

This is the part 2 of a 2 part special podcast series produced by BA IR students Julia Thommessen and Adam Beswick. In these podcasts King's students discuss different perspectives on COVID-19 and share their experiences. And as an Easter bonus: Sally shares her blueberry muffin recipe. Hosted by Adam Beswick, Peter Busch and Sally Horspool.

This is the part 1 of a 2 part special podcast series produced by BA IR students Julia Thommessen and Adam Beswick. In these podcasts King's students discuss different perspectives on COVID-19 and share their experiences. And as an Easter bonus: Sally shares her blueberry muffin recipe. Hosted by Adam Beswick, Peter Busch and Sally Horspool.

Dr Rudra Chaudhuri, Director of Carnegie India and Senior Lecturer in the department joins us from Delhi and gives his insights on the COVID-19 crisis in India. Find out more on https://carnegieindia.org And third-year students Kleber and Cassy talk about a student trip to Second World War battlefields in Italy earlier this year. Presented by Adam Beswick, Peter Busch and Sally Horspool.

In this episode of our War Studies 'at home' series we talk to IR student Aanvi who organised a visit to the EU and January (see also her blogpost: https://kingsthinktank.com/2020/02/07/eu-brussels-visit/#more-2951 Dr Matt Moran, co-director of the Department's Centre for Science and Security talks about his research on Open Source Intelligence and Big Data (his article: with C Hobbs and C Eldridg...

We have a report on right-wing 'radicalisation' on platforms like 4chan with insights from our colleague Dr Thomas Colley. We also talk to Sanjana Balu, the department's student experience and outreach officer. Adam caught up with two students and asked them about adapting to study from home. Presented by Adam Beswick, Dr Peter Busch and Sally Horspool.

We are talking to staff and students on how they are coping with the coronavirus crisis. Dr Amanda Chisholm also explains how 'virtual writing sprints' work.

In this edition of the War Studies podcast, Heini i Skorini from the University of the Faroe Islands in Denmark discusses the theme of his latest book. He investigates how the struggle to define the limits of free speech with regards to religion unfolds within the United Nations system. The publication gives a broad overview of the political struggle to interpret and define the meaning of human ri...

In this latest event recording, Professor Brendan Simms of the University of Cambridge discusses his new biography of Adolf Hitler, entitled Hitler: A Global Biography. He argues that contrary to past accounts, Hitler was driven by a desire to confront the United States and capitalism more broadly.

Two BA International Relations student from the Department of War Studies report on a talk given by Professor Stephen Walt. Professor Walt, one of the leading scholars of realism. For the full recording of Professor Walt's presentation visit: https://soundcloud.com/warstudies/event-why-is-it-useful-to-think-like-a-realist?in=warstudies/sets/events

In this edition of the King's College Podcast, Dr. Rachel Kerr meets the artists who contributed to the exhibition entitled Art, Conflict & Remembering: The Murals of the Bogside Artists, held from 28 January to 30 February 2020 at The Exchange, Bush House. This powerful exhibition tells the story of the Troubles through the twelve large-scale murals of The People’s Gallery in Derry/Londonderry, N...

What should be done after the end of a repressive regime or a civil war? How can bitter divisions be resolved in a way that combines reconciliation with accountability? These are typical questions within the field of transitional justice, but each of them is complex and contested and discussed in a wide range of disciplines. Michael Newman draws on his new book, Transitional Justice: Contending wi...

First event of the War Crimes Spring Term Seminar Series (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/series/war-crimes-spring-term-seminar-series). Speaker: Professor Mark Drumbl - Class of 1975 Alumni Professor at Washington & Lee University, School of Law, where he also serves as Director of the Transnational Law Institute. He has held visiting appointments with a number of law faculties, including Oxford, Pa...

Dr John Ferris gave this year's Saki and Michael Dockrill Memorial Lecture on the nature of "diplomatic intelligence" and the question of how diplomatic historians have used it. This event took place on 28 November 2019 https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/saki-and-michael-dockrill-memorial-lecture-diplomatic-intelligence

For this episode of the War Studies podcast we spoke with Peter Neumann about his recent book 'Bluster: Donald Trump's War on Terror' About the book: Donald Trump promised to defeat terrorism, but there is no easy way to make sense of his war on terror. Is it a genuine strategic shift from previous administrations? Or is it all bluster, a way to score points with his base? Hamstrung by his adminis...