War Studies

Event recording from 8/11/2016 Speaker: Nik Gowing, Visiting Professor at King’s College London, Department of War Studies, and Nanyang Technological University Singapore Chair: Professor Mats Berdal, Director of CSDRG, War Studies, King's College London. Abstract: 'Thinking the Unthinkable: Brexit? Trump? Migration? Russia? Why leaders have lost the plot on multiple issues.' 'Why are leaders so out of step with those they represent, or who buy products from them ? A proliferation of ‘unthinkable’ events over the last two years starting with the Russian seizure of Crimea, the 60% crash in oil prices and Europe’s migration crises, has revealed a new fragility at the highest levels of corporate and public service leadership. What are the reasons? After the unexpected result of the Brexit referendum, many question the capacity and readiness of leading executives, public servants and politicians to think unthinkables before they happen. The old assumptions and norms underpinning decision-making can no longer assume to be fit for purpose. In a world where low growth seems to be the only certainty, many confess to being overwhelmed as they struggle to find new bearings. Nik Gowing, Visiting Professor at King’s College London, Department of War Studies, and Nanyang Technological University Singapore presents new research evidence from the past two years on why the top levels in government and corporates fail to anticipate then manage crises. Using evidence collated from 2000 pages of transcripts from several hundred interviews before the Brexit vote and the political impact of Trump, Nik Gowing reveals why leaders struggle to identify then adapt to the new, fast changing and ill-defined normal. Many confess privately to being unsighted and scared. The conformity which got them to the top disqualifies them from accepting the scale of new realities. And most remain in denial. The findings of 'Thinking the Unthinkable' offer somber finding for current leaders and those who aspire to succeed them. An interim summary and analysis of the new evidence is available at www.thinkunthinkable.org' For more information, visit https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/events/eventsrecords/Thinking-the-Unthinkable-Brexit-Trump-Migration-Russia-Why-Leaders-Have-Lost-the-Plot.aspx

Event recording from 1/11/2016 "Elections in Georgia - The road ahead". On the 8th of October Georgians went to the polls to elect a new parliament. This was the first electoral challenge of the 'Georgian Dream' which has had rather unimpressive results over the past four years. Speaker - Dr Thomas de Waal is a non-resident senior associate with Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. From 2010-2015 he worked for the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC. He is the author of numerous publications about the region. His most recent book is Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide (Oxford University Press, 2015). He is also the author of the authoritative book on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War (NYU Press, second edition 2013) and of The Caucasus: An Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2010). De Waal has worked extensively as a journalist and writer in the Caucasus and Black Sea region and in Russia, for the BBC, The Times and other outlets. He studied Russian and Modern Greek at Oxford University. Speaker - Maximilian Hess is a political risk analyst based in London, specialising in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Max's work on the region has been featured in a number of publications, including the Telegraph and The Moscow Times. He earned his BA from Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania, and an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His interests include the Georgian language, separatist movements, and European and Eurasian international relations. Speaker - Elene Melikishvili is a PhD candidate at the Department of War Studies, KCL. Her research focuses on the states and conflicts in the South Caucasus. Her research interests include international relations, foreign policy, development and social empowerment. Elene hold an MA in International Relations from Webster University and she worked in the Parliament of Georgia, the Ministry of Justice and for different non-governmental organisations in Georgia and the UK.

Event recording from 19/10/2016: TAMING THE IMPERIAL IMAGINATION: COLONIAL KNOWLEDGE, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, AND THE ANGLO-AFGHAN ENCOUNTER, 1808-1878 Dr Bayly wrote his doctoral thesis in King's War Studies. He has recently written a book with the same title of the talk based on his doctoral thesis. Dr Bayly was the founder of King's Afghan Studies Group and is a postdoctoral fellow at LSE. He is returning to present his book to the Afghan Studies Group in conversation with Dr Avinash Paliwal. Dr Paliwal recently completed his doctorate at King's and took over the Afghan Studies Group from Dr Bayly. Taming the Imperial Imagination (Cambridge University Press) marks a novel intervention into the debate on empire and international relations, and offers a new perspective on nineteenth-century Anglo- Afghan relations. Martin J. Bayly shows how, throughout the nineteenth century, the British Empire in India sought to understand and control its peripheries through the use of colonial knowledge. Addressing the fundamental question of what Afghanistan itself meant to the British at the time, he draws on extensive archival research to show how knowledge of Afghanistan was built, refined and warped by an evolving colonial state. This knowledge informed policy choices and cast Afghanistan in a separate legal and normative universe. Beginning with the disorganized exploits of nineteenth-century explorers and ending with the cold strategic logic of the militarized ‘scientific frontier’, this book tracks the nineteenth-century origins of contemporary policy ‘expertise’ and the forms of knowledge that inform interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere today. Dr Martin J Bayly is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the International Relations Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the Department of War Studies, King's College London, an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, and a BA with First Class Honours in Politics from the University of Newcastle Upon-Tyne. For more information, visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/events/eventsrecords/bayly-asg.aspx

This podcast features an exclusive interview with Dr Samir Puri discussing his new book launch "Fighting and Negotiating with Armed Groups: The Difficulty of Securing Strategic Outcomes”. Dr Samir Puri is a Lecturer in the Department of War Studies. He spent six years working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2009-15) where his assignments included counter-terrorism strategy and policy support to a number of peace processes. In 2014-15 he was seconded to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine. His book, “Fighting and Negotiating with Armed Groups”, has been published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) as part of its Adelphi series. It follows his first book, Pakistan’s War on Terrorism, was published by Routledge, and numerous publications from his tenure as a Defence Analyst at RAND (2006-09)." For more information about Dr Samir Puri, visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/people/lecturers/puri.aspx. For more information about upcoming events, visit www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/events/

This podcast features exclusive interviews with the Traces of War artists Jananne Al-Ani, Baptist Coelho and Shaun Gladwell. Traces of War, reimagines war beyond its exceptionality, locating it in spaces where it would be least expected. At the same time, the art works reveal the sheer power of the everyday, as life itself and in its most ordinary makes its presence felt in the most dangerous locations of war. Artists from Goya to Dix variously and differently reveal the horrors of war and its imprint upon the body and the body politic, as if we might easily contrast the peace of the everyday with the destructive exceptionalism of war. However, the everyday also has a capacity to make its imprint on war, and this is shown most strongly in, for example, Mona Hatoum’s steel installation, Grater Divide (2002), where an everyday object, such as a kitchen utensil, acquires a menacing, frightening presence. For more information, visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/traces/about.aspx Upcoming events: - A NEW PEACEKEEPING & PEACEBUILDING ARCHITECTURE? 24th October 2016 (12:30-14:00) in the War Studies Meeting Room (K. 6.07) - NATIONAL IDENTIFICATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 24th October 2016 (18:00-19:00) War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07) - THE ORIGINS AND DYNAMICS OF GENOCIDE: POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN GUATEMALA 25th October 2016 (18:00-19:30) Weston Room Maughan Library - THE INDIA-PAKISTAN WARS AND THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF HISTORY 27th October 2016 (17:30-19:00) War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07) - WOMEN IN WAR AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS MOVIE NIGHT 27th October 2016 (19:00-21:00) War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07) Don’t forget to take some yummy snacks! For more information, visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/events/

Speaker: Thomas Abt, Senior Research Fellow & Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard University & Instituto Igarapé. Chair: Dr Kieran Mitton, CSDRG, War Studies, King's College London. Thomas Abt discussed his recent report, "What Works in Reducing Community Violence: A Meta-Review and Field Study for the Northern Triangle." The report was commissioned by USAID and examines 43 reviews covering over 1,400 individual studies in order to offer recommendations on the most effective strategies to reduce community violence in Central America and beyond. Speaker Profile Thomas Abt is a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Igarapé Institutee who has held senior positions in the Obama and Cuomo administrations, where he worked to improve public safety and reduce crime. Both in the United States and globally, Thomas teaches, studies, and writes on the use of evidence-informed approaches to reducing gun, gang, and youth violence, among other topics. He also serves as an Advisory Board Member to the Police Executive Programme at the University of Cambridge. Before joining Harvard, Thomas served as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety to Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York, where he oversaw all criminal justice and homeland security agencies, including the Divisions of Corrections and Community Supervision, Criminal Justice Services, Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and the State Police. During his tenure, Thomas led the development of New York’s GIVE (Gun-Involved Violence Elimination) Initiative, which employs evidence-informed, data-driven approaches to reduce violence. He also established the Research Roundtable on Criminal Justice, a statewide criminal justice community connecting research with policy. Before his work in New York, Thomas served as Chief of Staff to the Office of Justice Programs at the US Department of Justice, where he worked with the nation’s principal criminal justice grant-making and research agencies to integrate evidence, policy, and practice. He played a lead role in establishing the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, a network of federal agencies and local communities working together to reduce youth and gang violence. Thomas was also founding member of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, a place-based development effort that was recognized by HKS as one of the Top 25 Innovations in Government for 2013. This event was arranged in partnership with the King's Brazil Institute and Instituto Igarapé, Rio de Janeiro. The 'Approaches to Understanding Violence Seminar Series' is a programme of multidisciplinary lectures and events on the subject of violence, part of a CSDRG project led by Dr Kieran Mitton. Find out more here: www.kcl.ac.uk/csd Thomas Abt's full report can be downloaded here: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/USAID-2016-What-Works-in-Reducing-Community-Violence-Final-Report.pdf

Dr Alessio Patalano, Senior Lecturer, War Studies in conversation with Dan "Fig" Leaf Lt. Gen (Rtd) U.S. Air Force on Thursday 22nd September 2016 at 6pm in War Studies Meeting Room K6.07, 6th Floor, King’s Building This conversation is a recording between Dan “Fig” Leaf, Lt. General (Rtd) U.S. Air Force and Dr Alessio Patalano, Senior Lecturer. Lt. Gen Leaf became the Director, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) in January 2012. Prior to APCSS, he worked in the defense industry as vice president of full spectrum initiatives at Northrop Grumman Information Systems. Formerly the Deputy Commander of U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), Lt. Gen. Leaf retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2008 after more than 33 years of service. Other assignments during his Air Force career included Vice Commander of Air Force Space Command, Air Force Director of Operational Requirements, and multiple commands at squadron, group and wing levels. He was a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2009 through 2011. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leaf was a command pilot with more than 3,600 flight hours, including F-15 and F-16 combat missions. His decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. Further biography information can be found at http://apcss.org/about-2/leadership/apcss-director-leaf/

Interview with Professor Jennifer Welsh who is chair of International Relations at the European University Institute and Senior Research fellow at Somerville College at the University of Oxford. She was previously a professor of international relations at the university of oxford and co-director of oxford institute for ethics, law and armed conflict. Professor Welsh is an author, co author and editor of several books and articles on international relations in particular on the notion of the evolution of the the responsibility to protect in international society. Interview with Roger Mac Ginty who is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manchester. The interview discuses the problem of writing dispassionately about violence, calling it conflict instead, treating conflict studies as a science and how this effects the policy making sphere. Professor Jennifer Welsh Annual War Studies Lecture ‘The Individualisation of War’: https://soundcloud.com/warstudies/war-studies-annual-lecture-professor-welsh-on-the-individualisation-of-war Professor Roger Mac Ginty ‘How Should We Write About Violence’: https://soundcloud.com/warstudies/how-should-we-write-about-violence

Last week a a team of students from King's College London won The Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge. The challenge is an attempt to bridge the gap between the technical part of cybersecurity with cyber-policy. The competition occurs in three stages. 1. Competitors receive an initial situation report, and are given two weeks to write a 5-page brief of a response for European leaders. They are tasked to make a 10-min presentation and 10-min Q&A with top level judges (from private and public sector) on the first day of competition. 2. The situation develops in severity and complexity, and 15/31 teams have 12 hours to respond to a new situation report. 3. Only 4/31 teams that are remaining move into the Final Round, where teams must come up with a response to a new development in less than 15 minutes. They have 10 min to present and 10 more mins to answer questions. Sponsored by the Atlantic Council and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, this competition is the largest of its kind outside of the United States. Winners received a 1000 euro prize, free job interviews at F-Secure anywhere in the world, and several free vouchers for anti-virus, encryption software and cybersecurity databases. Presented by Xenia Zubova With Jackson Webster and Yuji Develle DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

Investigative journalist Chris Woods discusses the work of Airwars, a transparency group dedicated to tracking and archiving the international air war against Islamic State and other groups. Airwars has compiled an archive of reports of military action and civilian casualty reports in Iraq and Syria from 2014 to date from open sources. Presented by Bradley Murray and Xenia Zubova DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

After having served two terms as the Commonwealth Secretary-General, his excellency Kamalesh Sharma will be remembered for modernising the organisation, fostering crucial links with the G20, as well as providing vital capabilities to small states within the Commonwealth. Mr Sharma discusses his legacy, the Queen, human rights, radicalism and Brexit, as well as what more needs to be achieved. Presented by Xenia Zubova DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

Keith Somerville talks about the BBC, hate propaganda and objectivity in the media. Professor Somerville was a career journalist with the BBC World Service and BBC News for three decades, specialising in Africa, Keith writes and lectures on African affairs and is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. He is the author of several books, including 'Radio Propaganda and the Broadcasting of Hatred' Presented by Xenia Zubova DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London. Click here to listen to Professor Somerville's lecture: https://soundcloud.com/warstudies/africas-long-road-since-independence-the-many-histories-of-a-continent?in=warstudies/sets/events

Last month Dr David Hammond from the Institute for Economics and Peace taught a module at the War Studies Department titled 'Peace, Conflict, Quantitative Research and Big Data'. He answers the question of whether the world is becoming more violent, talks about how an average person can make sense of 'big data' to become a 'good data citizen' and whether data can be used to predict conflict. Presented by Xenia Zubova DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

In this week's War Studies Podcast, Professor Ian Taylor from St Andrew's shares his views on China's 'New Normal' relationship with Africa. We also have Dr. Jack McDonald from War Studies discuss the ongoing Apple v FBI case. Presented by Bradley Murray and Xenia Zubova. DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

This week, we have an interview with Professor Richard Ned Lebow, who recently celebrated 50 years of teaching International Relations. We talk to him about what he's found interesting in his 50 years of teaching, the joys of teaching, and an interesting encounter with a certain Soviet statesman. Ned Lebow's remarks on his 50 years can be listened to here: https://soundcloud.com/warstudies/professor-richard-ned-lebow-a-celebration-of-50-years-in-ir?in=warstudies/sets/events Presented by Xenia Zubova and Bradley Murray, who also provide details of next weeks' events in lieu of Jayne Peake. DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.