Defence Studies

📜 2025 Sir Michael Howard Annual Lecture - Resistance: The Underground War in Europe, 1939-1945

📅 03 Dec | 📍Bush House

Dr Halik Kochanski will explain how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich.

🎟️ RSVP: ow.ly/Bbne50X5C5l

📢 Join the public launch of the new CBRN Disinformation Tracker - an interactive resource demonstrating disinformation's impact on WMD disarmament debates

Developed by King's Dr @filippalentzos.bsky.social & Dr Gemma Bowsher

📅 20 Oct 2025
🕒 15.00 GMT | 10.00 EST
🔗 bit.ly/4hrUgM1

Dr Domitilla Sagramoso discusses the broader implications of the #SCOSummit, noting that it sends a clear message that "the policy of the United States to decouple Russia from China is really not being very successful."

⏯️Watch:https://bit.ly/3UYuKUc

#SCO2025 @dsagramoso.bsky.social

Dr Natasha Kuhrt describes the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (#SCO) as a "loose grouping" with "disparate interests", emphasising that it "is not an organisation like #NATO" & doesn't function as a collective security or defence alliance.

⏯️ bit.ly/45KkUeG

#SCOSummit @natashakuhrt.bsky.social

The US's absence from #PacificFutureForum has sparked concern among experts.

Prof Alessio Patalano called it “remarkable” that the US missed “the opportunity to be on stage alongside #NATO and East Asian allies to discuss the value of ever-closer ties.”

➡️Read more: bit.ly/45VKnAz

Dr Rod Thornton and Dr Marina Miron highlight Ukraine’s western #Donetsk “fortress belt” as a crucial defence against Russia.

“If Kyiv does accede, though, then this may amount to #Ukraine accepting its overall defeat. It may, indeed, lose the war.”

➡️Read more: bit.ly/4lSppIU

📄Read the full analysis by Dr Zeno Leoni and Dr Geraint Hughes:

“A ‘Reverse Kissinger’? Why Trump’s Anti-China Rapprochement with Russia Is Likely to Fail”

➡️ bit.ly/4lWoO9d

Dr Zeno Leoni says Trump’s idea to “un-unite” Russia and China misreads today’s geopolitics.

Unlike the Cold War, Russia and China now share a stable partnership. The US should focus on strengthening alliances and managing competition with China.

🔗Read: bit.ly/3HCwaka

Dr Ahron Bregman highlights the widening rifts between key social and political groups could escalate dangerously.

“Tensions within Israeli society are so high that the situation could easily deteriorate into an open civil war,” he says.

🔗Read more: bit.ly/4mEwy0I

Ransomware and Beyond: Exploring Strategic Objectives of Chinese Cyber Operations This seminar explores the Chinese Communist Party's ties to criminal networks and their use of cybercrime tactics like ransomware.

Join us for a seminar exploring the evolution of cyber operations, the use of plausible deniability, and China’s efforts to influence global cyber narratives.

📅3 Oct | 🕘16:00 |📍Strand Campus

🛡️Secure your spot now: bit.ly/4mRb3cv

@monicakello.bsky.social #CyberSecurity #CyberCrime

In Sudan, the skies have turned deadly Drones have become the new face of modern warfare, dominating headlines as Russia and Ukraine trade near-daily aerial strikes.But unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) are wreaking havoc in another of the...

How has drone warfare changed the trajectory of Sudan’s civil war?

“Drones have made the war feel omnipresent...This inescapable threat has become part of daily life in many parts of Sudan.” - Dr Andreas Krieg

Read: bit.ly/4p0iLmO

@andreaskrieg.bsky.social

#Sudan #CivilWar #DroneWarfare #UAV

Dr Marina Miron highlights the ambiguity of the US position & expresses doubts about direct military involvement by #NATO.

“Ukraine wants a lot, but how much of those #securityguarantees that #Ukraine envisages it will get is another question.”

🔗Read more:
bit.ly/3HnsKlc

#UkraineWar #Zelenskyy

UK spy chiefs spooked as Trump strains the special relati... When the US president doesn’t accept intelligence he doesn’t like, where does that leave the UK?

What if close intelligence allies see the world differently?

“Abandoning a close partner in an existential conflict left NATO allies, including the UK, wondering whether Washington viewed any standing commitments as firm.” -
Prof David Gioe, a former US intelligence officer

🔗Read:
bit.ly/3JdPsNc

Dr @paulmcgarr.bsky.social draws on newly declassified British documents to reveal how, during the #ColdWar, India’s Congress government, the CIA & British intelligence took covert actions to undermine the Communist Party of India in #Kerala in the late 1950s.

Read more:
bit.ly/3JjPwe6

What does the #Alaska summit suggest about US–Russia relations & global stability?

“It tells the world that the Trump administration does not consider the Russian government to be an adversary, but a partner and perhaps a friend.” - Dr @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social

🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/trump-putin-...

Analysis: Can Europe influence what happens between Russia and Ukraine? Military Analyst Professor Michael Clarke explains whether European leaders have any influence over a possible deal made by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump during their meeting in Alaska.

What influence do European leaders have over a potential deal between #Putin and #Trump in #Alaska?

"The Europeans shouldn’t overstate what they can do, but they can actually do quite a lot to keep the Ukrainians going," says Prof Michael Clarke @mikeclarke2020s.bsky.social.

Watch:
bit.ly/45IVZHk

Can battlefield gains shape peace talks?

Putin heads to #Alaska for a summit with Trump amid Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

“Putin has much stronger cards to play than his opponents... The Russian army is on the offensive & they are dictating the rules.” - Dr Marina Miron.

🔗 bit.ly/47vfJjY

Inspiring the next generation of strategic deterrence thinkers at King's The Commander of the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) - General Anthony Cotton - emphasised the importance of the next generation in meeting future global security challenges during a rece...

General Anthony Cotton, Commander of the United States Strategic Command, spoke at King’s on the role of strategic deterrence, nuclear security & global collaboration in today’s complex threat landscape.

He stressed the need to develop adaptable, innovative future leaders.

🔗Read: bit.ly/45ttFbG

UK military 'too stretched' to provide troops under Ukraine peace deal Armed forces may have to be pulled off existing commitments in order to be deployed should Trump manage to strike a peace deal for Ukraine, former MoD official warns

What challenges face a Ukraine peace deal?

The UK military may face difficulties committing troops without impacting #NATO duties, while Dr Marina Miron notes Russia is unlikely to accept Western peacekeepers, given its strong leverage in negotiations.

Read more:
bit.ly/45AjNNq

Chinese ‘overkill’ in dispute with Philippines damaged two Chinese ships. Why it could have been much worse | CNN It’s hard to call the collision of two multi-thousand-ton military ships “fortunate,” but that’s exactly what analysts are saying about the incident in the South China Sea this week that left a China ...

How will the collision between Chinese vessels near #ScarboroughShoal affect tensions with the Philippines?

“This was highly unprofessional and dangerous,” says Prof Alessio Patalano, adding the manoeuvre showed “no seamanship-like behaviour to speak of.”

Read more:
bit.ly/46Tx8mi

Research, educate and partner with the Defence Academy of the UK.

Join us at the forefront of interdisciplinary research and professional military education.

Full-time, indefinite contracts.

APPLY NOW 👇
🔗 bit.ly/4fMzndD

#DefenceJobs #AcademicJobs #HigherEdCareers

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English Creating chaos in Gaza ‘part of Israel’s day-after plan’

Is chaos in Gaza part of a deliberate strategy?

In this Al Jazeera interview, Dr @Rob Geist Pinfold, Lecturer in International Security, examines how Israel’s “day-after plan” may involve long-term destabilisation intended to make Gaza unliveable.
👉📺Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD-f...

Can Germany help to further strengthen Ukraine's air defence?

Hear Dr Domitilla Sagramoso discuss the difference two German Patriot systems could make to Ukraine's future defence.

👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUd4...

UK high-altitude research and intelligence balloon soars to new heights The UK has successfully trialed high-altitude balloons which can conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

💡Can high-altitude intelligence balloons boost the UK's national security?

With the ability to fly above most military aircraft, uncrewed balloons offer a low-cost surveillance and communications capability, alternative to traditional solutions.

Read👇
www.gov.uk/government/n...

Russia and China could kick off war in space - here's how Britain can fight back Maj-Gen Paul Tedman, the head of UK Space Command, says the threat of war in space is 'here, now' - and growing

How should the UK respond to the growing threat of space conflict?

FASI's @nuclearbalm.bsky.social explains "The use of dual-use civilian space systems further complicates escalation, as interference may unintentionally draw private actors into conflict."

Read 👇
inews.co.uk/news/world/r...

How Syria's New Government Risks Undermining Itself Syria’s caretaker government is struggling to contain violence in Sweida and Latakia, exposing cracks in authority, legitimacy, and national unity.

Can Syria’s new government survive without legitimacy or control?

In this article Dr Rob Geist Pinfold, examines how recent violence in Sweida reveals the risks of state failure if Damascus can’t build capacity and trust.

👉 Explore the article here: mecouncil.org/blog_posts/h...

Why did Trump move his best nuclear deterrent? Not for strategic gain The US president says he has deployed submarines closer to Russia — but this would only make the boats more vulnerable to attack

Does moving nuclear submarines closer to Russia make America safer — or more vulnerable?

Prof Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor in the School of Security Studies, examines Trump’s claim and why it makes no strategic sense.

👉 Explore the article here: www.thetimes.com/us/american-...

❓ Could Trump "un-unite" Russia and China?

Dr Geraint Hughes & Dr Zeno Leoni of the Defence Studies Dept compare Kissinger's overtures to China in 1972 with Trump's potential rapprochement with Russia today.

Do conditions compare? 🔗👇

bit.ly/3U7aW0f

#SinoRussia #TrumpDiplomacy #ReverseKissinger

💭 In this commentary for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dr Joe Devanny considers how effectively international efforts are improving global cyber diplomacy 👇

🔗 bit.ly/3ISa9xS

#CyberDiplomacy #DigitalDiplomacy

@carnegieendowment.org @joedevanny.bsky.social

🎙️New Podcast!

@andreisoldatov.bsky.social & Irina Borogan join @drichterova.bsky.social to discuss their book Our Dear Friends in Moscow. They explore how fear, betrayal & moral choices shaped a generation of Russians.

🎧Listen now:
☁️ bit.ly/3GibvBf
🟢 bit.ly/4lNgNnf
🍎 bit.ly/4kt6Av2