In a recent post, Dr Nick Lloyd described 1915 as the ‘forgotten year‘ of the First World War. To correct this, in occasional posts throughout 2015 members of the First World War Research Group based in the Defence Studies Department will examine unknown or forgotten aspects of the war during 1915. by Dr DAVID MORGAN-OWEN… Read More The Turning Point of the First World War, 1915
This is a response to a previous Defence-in-Depth post by Dr Chris Tuck entitled “Lidl Heart: Cut Price Strategy and the Perils of Influence”. by EWAN LAWSON Aside from having the cleverest title of a Defence-in-Depth blog so far, Lidl Heart: Cut Price Strategy and the Perils of Influence says much about the challenge of being… Read More ‘Lidl Heart II’: Thinking about the challenges of Influence
by Dr CHRIS TUCK Influence has become a fashionable concept in British defence circles, and it is easy to see why. Influence fits with a powerful globalist zeitgeist focused on the power of networks and ideas. Moreover, with its focus on the logic of persuasion rather than physical force, influence seems an intelligent way of… Read More Lidl Heart: Cut-Price Strategy and the Perils of Influence
by Dr ELLEN HALLAMS, Dr TRACEY GERMAN, and Dr PAAL HILDE On October 24th 2014 the Defence Studies Department (DSD) marked the launch of its Regional Security Research Centre with a NATO roundtable held at the Defence Academy. The event also marked the start of a new partnership between DSD and the Norwegian Institute for… Read More NATO at Newport: Back to the Future II
by Dr ELLEN HALLAMS, Dr TRACEY GERMAN, and Dr PAAL HILDE On October 24th 2014 the Defence Studies Department (DSD) marked the launch of its Regional Security Research Centre with a NATO roundtable held at the Defence Academy. The event also marked the start of a new partnership between DSD and the Norwegian Institute for… Read More NATO at Newport: Back to the Future I
by DR DAVID MORGAN-OWEN “Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing. It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different.” – A. Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes… Read More From the Archives: Building a Case: Overcoming the Often Fragmented Nature of Surviving Records
From the Archives is a new regular feature on Defence-in-Depth. Archives are the lifeblood of historians. Papers, correspondence, diaries and journals constitute the primary material on which historical analysis is based. This feature is designed to fulfill two objectives. Our authors have selected an archive that has yielded an important find and will explain how… Read More From the Archives: Locating NATO’s ‘Surreal’ Mission
by Dr DAVID P. HOUGHTON There have been numerous defence reviews in the United Kingdom since 1952, but all have failed to meet their objectives. No review has managed to match our commitments to our capabilities. In an ideal world, an altered set of challenges like that which accompanied the end of the Cold War… Read More Why British Defence Reviews Fail
by DR AMIR M. KAMEL Using economic sanctions to curb state behaviour is something which has conventionally been considered as an apt supporter or supported government tool alongside military and political levers of power. Indeed, whilst it is increasingly important to combine economic, military, and political methods to achieve influence, it is nevertheless important to… Read More FAILING US SANCTIONS AND IRAN’S BEHAVIOUR
by PROF WYN BOWEN, DR DAVID JORDAN & DR KATE UTTING The reflections of ‘Cold War warriors’ provided prescient insights into the wider application of deterrence during a recent Witness Seminar organised by the Defence Studies Department and the Institute for Contemporary British History at the Institute of Historical Research. The term ‘deterrence’ is often… Read More Reflections on Deterrence and the Lessons of History
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