BY DR MICHAEL FINCH This post is based on my article which appears in the most recent issue of The Journal of Military History. It might be considered that in producing a significant contribution to scholarship, a scholar ensures his or her own reputation. Yet this is not always the case. Edward Mead Earle, Professor at… Read More Balancing past and present: Edward Mead Earle and Makers of Modern Strategy
DR GERAINT HUGHES Even before the release of the Chilcot Report on 6th July 2016 the reputation of Tony Blair was tarnished by the controversies surrounding Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War (2003-2009), his relationship with former President George W. Bush, and the flawed decision-making which took the UK into this conflict. One side-effect of Operation Telic is that… Read More THE OTHER VIETNAM ANALOGY: TONY BLAIR, HAROLD WILSON AND THE ‘SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP’.
By DR DAVID B ROBERTS With its double meaning, the Chinese proverb ‘may you live in interesting times’ aptly describes the current mood in the Arab Gulf monarchies. These states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates) are going through a period of intriguing flux. A range of long-held assumptions across… Read More Interesting times for the Gulf Arab monarchies
DR CHRIS TUCK After seven years, the Chilcot inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war finally has been released. Its conclusions are an excoriating critique of the limitations in British strategy and policy in 2003. The inquiry has identified a raft of issues: that war was not the last resort and… Read More Iraq: not the first British disaster … and it’s unlikely to be the last
By DR AMIR M KAMEL The June 23 vote in the United Kingdom (UK) to leave the European Union (EU) sent shockwaves across the country, continent and globe in the political, economic and security spheres. This has already had and will continue to have ramifications in the Middle Eastern region. These are likely to be both positive and… Read More What BREXIT means for the Middle East
This is the second in a series of posts by members of the First World War Research Group and select guest contributors to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. DR AIMÉE FOX-GODDEN With the hundredth anniversary of the Somme campaign now upon us, it is both appropriate and understandable that attention is focused on the forces… Read More Somme learning: Interpreting and adapting the lessons of the Somme campaign in the ‘sideshow’ theatres
This is the first in a series of posts by members of the First World War Research Group and select guest contributors to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. PROF ROBIN PRIOR Robin Prior is Visiting Professorial Fellow at the School of History and Politics at the University of Adelaide. He is the… Read More THE SOMME- The British Battle
This is the sixth in a series of posts connected to the King’s College Second World War Research Group’s ‘1940-1942: Fulcrum of the Twentieth Century Conference’, held at the JSCSC on June 1st. DR RICHARD DUCKETT The performance of British and Empire forces against the Japanese in the Far East during 1942 is generally regarded as having been… Read More 1940-1942: THE FULCRUM OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY? Burma 1942: SOE’s role in ‘Defeat into Victory’
This is the fifth in a series of posts connected to the King’s College Second World War Research Group’s ‘1940-1942: Fulcrum of the Twentieth Century Conference’, held at the JSCSC on June 1st. PETER HARMSEN Traditionally Chiang Kai-shek has been treated in western historiography as a failure: the man who presided over the epic loss of China. In… Read More 1940-1942: THE FULCRUM OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY? ‘Halfway Out of National Danger’: Chiang, Stalin and the Chinese Reaction to Barbarossa
DR BEN KIENZLE The most recent polls for the referendum on Britain leaving the European Union suggest that neither the ‘Brexit’ nor the ‘Bremain’ camps have mustered the necessary support to win today. The still undecided voters will certainly play a crucial role. So, how should these voters take their decision? The most obvious approach… Read More Brexit and International Security: A Guide for Undecided Voters
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