War Studies

The unsung heroes of World War Two risked everything to ensure naval manoeuvres were fulfilled and convoys, sending vital food and supplies to Britain, were safe. Much is left untold of the incredible logistics that were at play - crossing the inhospitable North Sea, escaping under fire and extricating hundreds of thousands of troops from Dunkirk beaches in just a few days. In this episode, Professor Malcolm Murfett, a visiting professor at the Department of War Studies, shares insights into naval operations that have gone down in history for the infamy, tragedy or glory associated with them and the naval figures that led such missions. Offering narrative on First Sea Lords, such as Sir Dudley Pound, Malcolm highlights the scale of naval tasks, the challenges at sea and how crucial mistakes led to some of history’s biggest naval disasters. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography exists as almost magisterial volumes in refereeing notable figures from British History. As an Associate Editor, Malcolm reveals the personal endeavours of individuals he’s come across - the good, the bad and the ugly.

The UK government's 2021 Integrated Review of security and defence outlines Russia as the "most acute threat to our security". This follows the rise of an increasingly resurgent and highly unpredictable Russia under Putin, with many in the West raising the spectre that Russia’s military actions are leading to a restoration of the former Soviet Union in a new shape and form. But how credible is this interpretation of Russian foreign policy over the last 30 years and how careful should we be before jumping to conclusions about what lies behind the Russian state’s actions? In this episode, Dr Domitilla Sagramoso, Lecturer in Security and Development at the Department of War Studies, shares insights from her recently published book 'Russian Imperialism Revisited: From Disengagement to Hegemony'. Offering rigorous and objective analysis of Russia’s policies in its closest neighbourhood over a 30 year period up to 2017, she hopes to provide a closer look at the drivers and motivations behind foreign-policy formulation and provide accurate analysis of Russian actions in the former Soviet space. An invaluable resource to anyone grappling with the increasing tensions in Western-Russian relations, her findings highlight the missed opportunities for building bridges between Russia and the West, and underline how and why Russian foreign policy took a different, more assertive tack under Putin.

Marx called it the 'glorious harbinger of a new society’, the Bolsheviks shrouded Lenin’s body in a Communard flag, and Mao Zedong claimed the events partly inspired the Cultural Revolution. The Paris Commune 1871 was one of the most significant revolutionary uprisings of the 19th century and after, and has captured imaginations for the last 150 years, inspiring communist leaders to the recent Gilet Jaune protests in France to a French fashion brand.   In this special episode marking 150 years since the Paris Commune, guest presenter and War Studies historian, Dr Mark Condos, speaks to Dr Julia Nicholls, Lecturer in French & European Studies at King’s, about the events of the Commune, its aftermath and its enduring legacy.   Julia discusses her book 'Revolutionary Thought after the Paris Commune, 1871 – 1885', exploring what happened to the revolutionaries exiled from France post-Commune, how they kept their revolutionary ideas alive, once scattered around the globe, and what this means for understanding French politics during this period and beyond. This podcast is part of our activities marking 150 years since the Franco-Prussian War. We’ll also be hosting a two-day conference, 6-7 May 2021, to interrogate the significance of some of the key political, social, cultural, and military transformations brought about by this crucial turning point in both European and world history. Sign up online - www.kcl.ac.uk/events/reassessing-the-franco-prussian-war-150-years-on-1

Are we entering a fifth era of biological warfare? One that does not depend on the existence of a manufactured biological weapon, but rather seeks to weaponise fake news and disinformation to undermine public health efforts? As we move beyond the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, we talk to Rose Bernard, doctoral researcher in global health security, in the Conflict and Health Research Group in the Department of War Studies. She believes the deluge of fake news that accompanied the coronavirus, along with the rapid rise of the anti-vax movement in the last 10 years, and misinformation during the Ebola outbreaks, reveal how damaging disinformation can be to public health efforts. We discuss how this new type of biowarfare could incorporate the use of cyber capabilities to undermine sociopolitical systems by virtually escalating natural outbreaks. Such a campaign could have a catastrophic impact – potentially diverting the course of an epidemic by preventing people from accessing treatment, increasing civil conflict, and provoking attacks on health workers.

“The efficiency of the RAF was maintained and often increased [in WW2] because of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, especially in helping to win the Battle of Britain.” In this special episode, celebrating International Women’s Day 2021, we speak to Sarah-Louise Miller, a doctoral candidate in the Department of War Studies, about her research on the incredible intelligence work conducted by the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAF) during WW2, and how their work set a precedence for women’s roles in security and intelligence going forwards. We discuss why their efforts behind integral successful RAF operations, which contributed to the overall Allied war victory, remain hidden even up until today, the outstanding bravery they showed in the face of danger and how they survived and thrived in a ‘man’s world’ despite the highly repressive gender norms of the time.

“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, joins us to share his unique perspective on the events. We discuss how this largely “forgotten war”, revolutionised warfare for the 21st century, re-set Persian gulf politics and enthralled a group of obscure French philosophers. We look at their how their uncannily prophetic observations at the time, almost anticipated the growing anti-western sentiments in the Islamic world, 9/11 and the rise of global terrorism, extremism and Jihad we've witnessed in the last 30 years.

"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 supporting NATO in 2009 during one of the most profound periods of change in Kosovo’s turbulent history. We’ll discuss the volatile security context, clash of cultures, balancing family life with being on deployment, doing shots of raki in the morning ‘for Queen and country’, and the past, present and future of Kosovo’s Independence.

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 Biden’s first week as 46th President of the United States draws to a close, Dr Ruth Deyermond, Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies and expert on the post-Soviet and post-Cold war US-Russia relationship, joins us to discuss whether Biden can re-build the US’ damaged reputation and fulfil the promises set out in his inauguration speech. We also explore Trump’s close relationship with Putin and why so few White House records were kept on this, what another four years of Trump would have meant for US security and what the future might hold next for the historically fraught US and Russia relationship.

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 Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, on his recent book ‘Secret Alliances: Special Operations and Intelligence in Norway 1940-1945’. Credited with shining a new light on the story of the Norwegian resistance movement, British intelligence and special operations in war-time Norway, it draws on hitherto unpublished materials buried deep in Norwegian and British intelligence archives. He discusses the uniquely close Anglo-Norwegian political relationship and cooperation that gave rise to the successful resistance movement, the desolate conditions agents based in Norway operated under, the role of code breakers and the story behind one of the world’s most famous Christmas trees – a festive gift from Oslo to London which is displayed in Trafalgar Square every year.

‘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 how the ‘Great War’ made TV history and transformed historical documentaries going forwards. He discusses how the BBC used innovative techniques, including eye-witness testimonies to represent the voices of ‘ordinary’ people, but also the extent to which televised or cinematic representations of war can blur fact and fiction, in ways that aren’t always clear to us.