War Studies

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 Eldridge: ‘Fusing algorithms and analysts’: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02684527.2017.1406677 And Adam tells us more about his Instagram story (the department on Instagram: kcl_warstudies). Presented by Adam Beswick, Peter Busch, Sally Horspool

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 rights and freedom of expression.

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, Northern Ireland. Created and curated by King's College Visiting Research Fellow Dr. Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin, in close co-operation with the Bogside Artists, the exhibition draws attention to the non-sectarian Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s and raises awareness of the lasting effects of The Troubles on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.

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 with the Past, to explore some of the major debates and themes. Michael Newman is Emeritus Professor at London Metropolitan University, He has been teaching ‘War, Peace and World Order’, at NYU London since 2011. This talk is part of the War Crimes Spring Term Seminar Series at King's College London.

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, Paris II (Pantheon-Assas), Trinity College, Dublin, Melbourne, Monash, and Ottawa. His scholarly interests include public international law, international criminal justice, and transnational legal process.

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 administration’s weakness, Trump hasn’t actually changed much about counterterrorism. What is different is the ideological agenda—excessively militaristic and short-sighted. Foreign alliances have deteriorated, right-wing extremists feel emboldened, and the US no longer seems like a multi-cultural haven. So what is it all for? Peter R. Neumann argues that Trump’s war on terror looks strong and powerful in the short term, but will cause damage over time. Trump's self-serving approach has failed on its own terms, made the world less safe, and undermined the US’ greatest asset—the very idea of America. https://www.amazon.

Britain, the Iraq War and legal investigations of War Crimes: We talked about this with Dr Thomas Obel Hansen, Lecturer in Law at the University of Ulster after he gave a paper here in London in March 2019.

What is fake News? And how can it influence war and conflict? We talked about this with Dr Martin Moore, Senior Lecturer in Political Communication and Director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power at King’s College London. The interview was recorded in March 2019.

In episode 4 of our ‘Experts’ series, we explore the use of new and social media in the so-called ‘Jasmine Revolution’ protests in China in 2011 and talk to Professor Kerry Brown, the Director of King’s College’s Lau China Institute. The interview was recorded in March 2019.

On 9 November 1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down by crowds from both East and West Germany, defining the end of an era not only for Germans but for the world. This week on the War Studies Podcast, we sit down with Dr Barbara Zanchetta, a Cold War historian in the War Studies Department, to discuss the significance of this anniversary. Event highlight: Africa Week at King's College London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/series/africa-week-2019

In the second episode of our new podcast series called ‘experts’, we investigate how so-called ‘Islamic State’ uses music as propaganda. Our expert Charlie Winter is Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. Like all podcasts in this series, this episode is produced by Department of War Studies students who took the module ‘New Wars, New Media, New Journalism’. This module is convened by Dr Peter Busch who is also presenting this episode. The interview with Charlie was recorded in March 2019.

In the second episode of our new podcast series called ‘experts’, we investigate new media technology affect open source intelligence gathering and we ask what the (ethical) limitations should be. Our expert on this is Dr Huw Dylan who is a senior lecturer in the Department of War Studies. Like all podcasts in this series, this episode is produced by Department of War Studies students who took the module ‘New Wars, New Media, New Journalism’. This module is convened by Dr Peter Busch who is also presenting this episode. The interview with Dr Dylan was recorded in March 2019.