Professor Anthony King gives a talk for the Changing Character of War seminar series. Command has long been a major concern for military historians and security studies scholars. Focusing on the divisional headquarters and specifically on staff procedure, the 'decision point', this paper analyses the transformation of command in the 21st century. It claims that in contrast to the 20th century, when forces institutionalised a relatively individualised system of command, command in the 21st centur...
Feb 23, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Dr Richard Connolly gives a talk for the Changing Character of War seminar series. After Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Western powers and their allies responded by imposing sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy. Richard Connolly, author of a forthcoming book on the subject, will discuss the impact of sanctions on targeted sectors, and how the response by policy-makers has shaped the development of political economy in Russia since 2014. Based on his findings, he will als...
Feb 23, 2018•49 min
'Limited War' is one of the terms making a frequent appearance in the strategic studies, international relations, and military history realms over the last 70 years. What does 'Limited War' mean? When do we know we are in one? What unique problems arise when waging one? What are the problems with ending them? And what should states do to secure a lasting peace? Distinguished Vienna Diplomatic Academy Fulbright Professor Donald Stoker discusses these issues and others by drawing upon what he has ...
Jan 24, 2018•35 min
This seminar will not only offer a core foundation in the concept of deterrence, from a practitioner's perspective, but explore its utility and application to present day conflict scenarios in Europe, in particular the case of Russia and NATO. In the United States national security and policy discourse has notably shifted away from low intensity conflict and back to the threat from peer and near-peer competitors. With great power competition and confrontation back at the center of policy discuss...
Jan 22, 2018•40 min
Mary Kaldor discussing her pioneering work on the concept of new wars and global civil society. Her work on the practical implementation of human security has directly influenced European and national politics. Mary Kaldor is Professor of Global Governance, Director of the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit at the London School of Economics and Political Science and CEO of the Department for International Development (DFID) funded Conflict Research Programme. Her books include; The Baroque...
Dec 20, 2017•36 min
The focus of this presentation is on post-ISIS Syria and Iraq, Iranian ascendancy in the region, and the reaction of the US, UK and their allies in the region. It also considers prospects for Saudi Arabian reform and leadership of the Arab world. Jonathan Paris is a London-based analyst with interests in counter-radicalization, international security and global trends in a wide range of regions including South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, China and Europe. He was a Middle East Fellow at the Co...
Dec 20, 2017•28 min
This seminar is concerned with the broad issues raised by the UN’s long-running mission in the DRC and what it tells us about the deeper challenges facing the UN as it continues to grapple with civil war and protection crises in different parts of Africa. In November 2012, the city of Goma in eastern Congo, whose population had recently swollen to nearly 1 million following the influx of refugees fleeing fighting and mass atrocities in neighbouring territory, fell to a Rwanda-backed armed group,...
Nov 16, 2017•44 min
In this provocative seminar, Dr Sean McFate, author, novelist and expert in foreign policy and national security strategy, looks at the neglected area of the economics of war.
Nov 16, 2017•37 min
Soft war tactics, including cyber-warfare and economic sanctions, propaganda and non-violent resistance are of increasing importance but largely unexplored in just war theory. This talk illuminates this neglected aspect of international conflict. Just war theory focuses primarily on bodily harm, such as killing, maiming, and torture, while other harms are often largely overlooked. At the same time, contemporary international conflicts increasingly involve the use of unarmed tactics, employing 's...
Oct 26, 2017•44 min
Is de-radicalisation of former terrorists helpful or even possible? This presentation explores the processes involved in leaving social movements or disengaging from terrorist activities. This presentation explores the processes involved in leaving social movements or disengaging from terrorist activities by providing an analysis of transformation away from politically motivated violence towards a civilian non-military role as part of the wider Northern Irish peace process amongst Loyalist and R...
Oct 23, 2017•39 min
A 'deliberately provocative' assessment of contemporary conflict. In 'The End of Peace and Optimism: Assessing the Changing Character of War', CCW Director Dr Rob Johnson discusses a broad range of subjects pertinent to understanding the evolution of modern war - from the changing impact of religion to the increasing centrality of the civilian dimension - and does so with reference to several competing disciplinary approaches.
Oct 16, 2017•53 min
Dr Heather Roff discusses the role of autonomous weapons systems within the international community. She provides a theoretical framework for defining and classifying these systems, examining the diplomatic and moral concerns that they pose. For the past three years the international community convened a series of informal meetings of experts under the auspices of the United Nation’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) to consider whether or not to preemptively ban lethal autonomous...
Apr 05, 2017•41 min
Professor David Galbreath gives a talk for the Changing Character of War seminar series.
Apr 05, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Since the ‘Arab Spring’ uprising of 2011, the United States and a network of European and regional Sunni allies have applied instruments of coercion against Syria that collectively take on the character of ‘hybrid warfare’. In this conflict, Washington and its alliance partners have undertaken a wide range of lethal and non-lethal covert operations, with heavy reliance placed upon those performed by regional Sunni allies. By empowering jihadis as proxies, President Obama has borrowed much from t...
Apr 05, 2017•45 min
The power of poetry to move Arab listeners and readers emotionally, to infiltrate the psyche and to create an aura of authenticity around the ideologies it enshrines, make it a perfect weapon for militant jihadist causes. Over the last three decades, several Islamic extremist magazines have regularly featured poetry extolling the virtues of, and rewards for, militant jihad. However, scholars and analysts alike have almost entirely neglected contemporary Arabic jihadist poetry, skipping over thes...
Dec 05, 2016•48 min
One of the aspects of the changing character of war is an increased awareness of and attention to those who go missing due to armed conflict. This presentation will discuss changing norms and competing frameworks that surround the search for the missing. Derek Congram is a forensic anthropologist and a Research Associate in the Global Justice Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Canada. He has a Ph.D. in Archaeology, with a focus on bioarchaeology (the analysis of ske...
Dec 05, 2016•51 min
Kenneth Payne explores the evolutionary basis of strategic behaviour, and assesses the impact of non-biological intelligence on the future of warfare. From chimpanzees to computers, via a dose of Clausewitz: hopefully something for everyone. Dr Kenneth Payne is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Security Studies at King's College London. This talk covers some of the research for his forthcoming book, of the same title. His earlier books considered the psychology of decision-making in the Vietnam...
Dec 05, 2016•47 min
Do criminal groups use 'strategy'? Are crime wars really wars? This talk will reveal criminal groups using force and other means to determine political outcomes to suit their own agendas and competing with states in a common 'market for government'. Dr James Cockayne (United Nations University) has recently published a new book 'Hidden Power: The Strategic Logic of Organized Crime'.
Oct 14, 2016•46 min
Steven Jermy gives a talk for the Changing Character of War Programme seminar series. Steven Jermy's analysis builds on an article published in 2013 for the Russian International Affairs Council, and on original science set out in in draft paper for the Royal Society. Included amongst his conclusions is the prediction of a 24% reduction in global GDP by 2030, together with preliminary thoughts about the geopolitical consequences therein.
Jul 08, 2016•40 min
Mohamed Haji Ingiriis gives a talk for the Changing Character of War Programme seminar series. Using oral testimonies, visual evidence and ethnographic observation, and drawing from literature across social sciences, this presentation seeks to trace the persistent and perpetual Somali conflicts in which the waves and webs of violence were conceptualised in various ways.
Jul 08, 2016•34 min
Discussing the issues involved in using children in conflict, assesses the changing characteristics of security and war, and explains the complex international system and interwoven constraints and opportunities on government policy in this field.
Jul 06, 2016•46 min
Professor Jeremy Black from the University of Exeter delivers the CCW Annual Lecture on the theme of "Strategy and War in the Modern Age".
Jul 06, 2016•56 min
Rodrigo Fracalossi de Moraes gives a talk for the Changing Character of War programme seminar series. The idea that the sea is a common heritage of mankind has been giving way to the idea that the sovereignty of states can be extended over the sea. The presentation focuses, in particular, on the perspectives of emerging countries, especially Brazil and China.
Jul 06, 2016•33 min
Joanne Neenan gives a talk for the Changing Character of War Programme seminar series.
Jul 06, 2016•35 min
Sir Hew Strachan gives a valedictory lecture for the Changing Character of War upon stepping down as Chichele Professor of the History of War.
Jul 06, 2016•1 hr 1 min
Rapid and unmanaged urbanisation is leading to protracted armed violence in key cities of the developing world. This seminar analyses the conduct of recent stabilisation operations within large and mega-cities.
Jul 06, 2016•29 min
Jason Clark gives a talk for the Changing Character of War Programme seminar series.
Jul 05, 2016•56 min
Tom Simpson gives a talk for the Changing Character of War programme seminar series.
Jul 05, 2016•31 min
Historical Lessons for the Defensive Employment of Air Power
Jul 05, 2016•50 min
James Kidner gives a talk for the Changing Character of War programme seminar series.
Jul 05, 2016•50 min
