Research Theme
Conflict and Reconstruction
Staff research interests and a significant part of the teaching programmes converge in the area of research on conflict: theorising violent and non-violent conflicts; examining their origins, conduct, and consequences; reviewing the role of institutions in the management and resolution of conflicts; and analyzing efforts to end them and lay the conditions for a more stable order. The common starting point for this research is that conflict is a complex social phenomenon that cannot be successfully studied from a single theoretical or methodological perspective. As a result, the research programmes and projects undertaken under this theme combine a wide variety of approaches and often cross disciplinary boundaries. They also regularly involve collaboration with other institutions both in the UK and abroad.
Within the theme, current research activities of the school can be grouped into several closely interrelated strands:
I. Strategic Studies
The field of strategic studies deals with understanding violent conflict. Research in this area by several members of the School is partly empirical (concerning the development of strategic thought and of the practical implementation of strategy in many historical examples), and partly theoretical, but since strategy by its very nature has a practical applicability in all cases the insights produced must be relevant to public policy (current and potential future operations). Professor Colin Gray, Professor Beatrice Heuser, Dr Geoff Sloan, Dr Dale Walton work in this area.
Strategy and Culture: Future Warfare and its Changing Contexts
Professor Colin Gray
A series of ongoing projects by the doyen of the group and early exponent of the importance of culture as a variable in conflicts, involving Ph.D. students, conferences and individual publications. They encompass 21st century regular and irregular warfare in its political, cultural, social, economic, technological, geographical, geopolitical and historical contexts.
Strategic Ideas and Theory
Professor Colin Gray
The general theory of strategy in relation to environmentally specialised theories. Theory for every environment is either absent (space and cyberspace) or in deep trouble (land in relation to air, and maritime). This on-going project seeks to create new ground and challenge some old beliefs about the role and conduct of military conflict. In addition to several short books, pamphlets and articles in books and journals, Professor Gray's recent monograph, The Strategy Bridge: theory for practice (OUP, September 2010) directly addresses these issues with an original contribution to the general theory of strategy from the perspective of the strategist addressing the task of converting the threat and use of military force into desired political consequences. Professor Gray is currently working, inter alia, on a monograph on Defence Planning, and another monograph entitled Deconstructing Strategic Challenges.
The Evolution of Strategy
Professor Beatrice Heuser
Strategy- how to prevail in conflict, particularly military conflict usually presented in such terms as "art of war" or even "tactics" - has been the subject of study since Antiquity with important lines of continuity and recurrent themes brought to the Modern world by Christine de Pisan, Machiavelli and others. These themes became even more famous in relation to military conflict through the writings of Clausewitz, Sir Julian Corbett, and B.H. Liddell Hart. Technology has obviously introduced phenomenal changes over time, from gunpowder to nuclear weapons, but there are recurrent themes, from genocide to insurgency and counterinsurgency, which can be traced back in strategic writing through the centuries. After the publication of The Strategy Makers: Thoughts on War and Society from Machiavelli to Clausewitz (September 2010) and The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present (October 2010), Professor Beatrice Heuser is currently working on a monograph on Small Wars in Theory and Practice throughout history, and some spin-off articles.
Geopolitics and Strategic History
Dr Geoff Sloan
The concept of geopolitics initially gained attention through the work of Sir Halford Mackinder in England and his formulation of the Heartland Theory which was set out in an article entitled "The Geographical Pivot of History" in 1904. In Geopolitics is a theory of the political implications of spatial relationships and historical causation. In it we explore patterns of political history and particularly strategic prescriptions based on the relative importance of land and sea power in the causes, conduct and consequences of international conflict. Dr Sloan is currently writing a monogrpahy 'Geopolitics and Strategic History, 1871-2025' , to be published by Taylor & Francis in July 2011.
Intelligence and Its Role in Conflict
Dr Geoff Sloan
The gathering, analysis and use of 'Intelligence' in order to manage both domestic and cross-national conflict is one of the oldest functions of the state. It can be said to have its roots in ancient India and China. In the twentieth century it has become institutionalized and is one of the central functions of government. In the military environment it is a force multiplier at all three levels of war. Dr Geoff Sloan is our specialist in this area, currently researching a Leverhulme related intelligence project titled : Intelligence Operations and the British State in Ireland 1916-1921 :Coping with a Policy of 'Slap and Stroke'.
Doctrine and Command Philosophy
Dr Geoff Sloan
Doctrine can be described as the 'soul of warfare'. If formulated, disseminated and applied in a consistent manner it can act as a force multiplier that proves decisive in shaping the outcome of violent conflicts. It can enable a smaller military force to take on and defeat a larger military force. Too often this conceptual component of fighting power is evaluated in isolation from command philosophy. Yet the two are highly dependent on one another for the achievement of operational success. It is only through an examination of the relationship between the two concepts that an understanding can be achieved about the problems of the generation of fighting power.
Religion, Strategy, and War
C. Dale Walton
The objective of this project is to explore how Strategic Studies as a discipline might better grapple intellectually with the importance of religious beliefs and ideology for political action. Thus far, Strategic Studies scholarship generally has proven very tentative in its discussion of religion and international politics, with most authors preferring to use a familiar and "comfortable" perspective, such one based in rational-actor theory, to assess the activities of overtly religiously-motivated actors. This project is predicated on the view that such a perspective is flawed, and that truly understanding the political activities of many current and past political actors requires a real appreciated for how ideology shapes their worldview and their decision making in regard to the use of violence, and that this understanding would enrich Strategic Studies theory. Outputs from this project will include at least two articles and a book-length monograph.
Grand Strategy and the Presidency
C. Dale Walton
This project addresses the historical development of the presidency as a "strategic office" and why the United States sometimes has enjoyed exceptional presidential leadership in the past. It also explores the implications of that history for the present and future, in particular the reasons why in coming years presidents may fail to meet high standards of leadership in foreign affairs, and how this could undermine the ability of the United States to construct and maintain a coherent grand strategy appropriate to the multipolar world of the twenty-first century. The project will culminate in the publication of Grand Strategy and the Presidency: Foreign Policy, War, and the American Role in the World (London: Routledge, 2011).
II. Institutions for Conflict Management
Institutions play an important role in managing and resolving both violent and non-violent conflicts between and within states and in addressing the consequences of war. Current research in this field examines the impact on conflict of decision making structures and mechanisms within both domestic and international organisations. Specific foci include the ways in which international organisations legitimate their increasingly deep involvement in the domestic affairs of their member states, the scope of electoral institutions to assist in conflict resolution, and the way in which the UN Security Council has addressed - and sometimes failed to address - the problem of war since 1945. Dr. Philip Giddings, Dr. Jonathan Golub, Dr. Jeremy Lester, Dr. Alan Renwick, Dr. Dale Walton and Dr. Dominik Zaum work in this area.
Managing Conflict Within the European Union
Dr. Jonathan Golub
The European Union was established to manage and prevent conflicts, whether amongst its Member States or between Member States and the rest of the world. This project analyses several aspects of this ambitious mission, including how formal and informal institutional rules mediate the interaction between political actors with often enormously disparate power and interests, how they shape the content of EU laws, and how they affect the legitimacy of the EU in the eyes of its citizens. In addition to placing articles about the management of EU conflict in leading journals, the project continues to generate methodological insights and new datasets that are valuable to scholars as well as practitioners.
The Design of Domestic Institutions
Dr. Alan Renwick
It is conventionally assumed that domestic political institutions are designed by incumbent elites in order to advance their own power interests. While this is often true, Alan Renwick's research explores other routes through which democratic reforms can take place. In particular, he is currently exploring the degree to which and the ways in which values - relating to conflict resolution as well as, for example, to representation, accountability, and effective government - can influence institutional choice processes. One of the themes in his book, The Politics of Electoral Reform: Changing the Rules of Democracy (Cambridge University Press 2010) is the contrast between electoral reform in old democracies and original electoral system creation in new democracies. This is further explored in an article (due out in East European Politics and Societies during 2011) that analyses institutional choices in East-Central Europe around the collapse of communism, which argues that there are circumstances when concerns about conflict resolution and other values can indeed come to the fore in shaping institutions. His major ongoing research projects, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the McDougall Trust, examine the politics of institutional design in the UK and throughout Europe since 1945.
Rules and Representation: The Legitimacy of International Organisations
Dominik Zaum.
The project brought together an international group of scholars for a series of British Academy funded workshops examining the legitimation practices of international and regional organisations. As international and regional organisations increasingly interfere with what was once regarded as the sovereign authority of states, questions about their legitimacy, and how they justify their actions, have increasingly been raised. The project examines and compares these practices of legitimation how these practices differ according to regions, institutional structure, and membership, and what this suggests about the prospects and limitations for global and regional governance. The findings will be published in an edited volume to be submitted to a leading academic publisher by winter 2010. It has been supported by the British Academy.
The United Nations Security Council and War
Dr. Dominik Zaum
A project run by the Oxford Leverhulme Project on the Changing Character of War, examining the role of the Security Council in addressing - and failing to address - the problem of war and conflict since 1945. A major edited volume, The United Nations Security Council and War: The Evolution of Thought and Practice Since 1945, co-edited by Vaughan Lowe, Sir Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum was published by OUP in 2008 (paperback with minor corrections and revisions in May 2010). The research also resulted in a co-authored monograph (Adelphi paper) by Dominik Zaum and Adam Roberts, for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Selective Security: War and the United Nations Security Council since 1945 (Routledge 2008).
III. Post-conflict studies
The international community has increasingly involved itself in the establishment and reform of political and social institutions of post-conflict countries with the aim of creating the conditions for self-sustaining peace - efforts which in some cases conflict with continued military operations, in particular counterinsurgency activities. A central part of this aspect of the research theme is a Carnegie Corporation funded project on Power after Peace: The Political Economy of Post-conflict Statebuilding, which examines the impact of post-conflict statebuilding practices on the relationship between formal and informal political and economic structures in post-conflict countries. Other research in this area explores the tensions between ongoing counterinsurgency operations and post-conflict reconstruction, the impact of democracy promotion in post-conflict environments, and the problems of exit strategies. Prof Beatrice Heuser, Dr. Oisin Tansey, Dr Dale Walton, Professor peter Woodward and Dr. Dominik Zaum work in this area.
Post-conflict Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Dr. Dominik Zaum
Participation in an international research group on Exit Strategies and Peace Consolidation (which resulted in a short article for the RUSI Journal (2008) and a forthcoming book chapter (2011), and an international research project on The Norms and Ethics of Post-Conflict Reconstruction (resulting in an article in Ethics and International Affairs (2009). The work builds on Dr Zaum's previous work on post conflict statebuilding, published as The Sovereignty Paradox: The Norms and Politics of International Statebuilding (Oxford: OUP, 2007).
Post-conflict Reconstruction: reforming, or creating new, political institutions
Dr Oisín Tansey
Dr Tansey's work focuses on two aspects of post-conflict reconstruction. The first concerns the extent to which international state-builders can reform or create new political institutions in ways that can minimise the risk of further conflict and stabilise democratic politics. This research highlights the ways in which international actors can involve themselves in the processes of democratic transition and consolidation in post-conflict settings and can play roles usually associated with domestic actors. It also highlights the limits on such international action, however, and identifies the means by which pre-existing national elites and structures can frustrate international efforts at political reform, often in ways that allow for the continuation of the very domestic conflicts that international intervention has been designed to eradicate.
Post-conflict Reconstruction: evaluating outcomes
Dr Oisín Tansey
The second strand of Dr Tansey's work addresses the ways in which the effects of international state-building on domestic politics can be evaluated. This project identifies some methodological flaws in the existing state-building literature and argues that much greater attention needs to be paid to the ways in which international efforts to resolve conflict are evaluated; too often, domestic outcomes are assumed to be the result of international actions rather than such causal influences being demonstrated with appropriate or sufficient empirical evidence. The project identifies explores a number of research methods that can be used to evaluate international influences, and uses original findings gained from fieldwork in East Timor illustrate the arguments. Outputs include the monograph Regime-Building: Democratization and International Administration, Oxford University Press, 2009.
Power after Peace: The Political Economy of Post-conflict Statebuilding.
Dominik Zaum (together with Prof. Mats Berdal, KCL)
The last fifteen years have seen the increased involvement of donor countries and international organisations in the governance and development of post-conflict countries, to assist with the creation of representative political institutions, build governance capacities, promote judicial reform, and reform economic structures. Their efforts of institutional and societal transformation aim to change the underlying structures and dynamics that are thought to have fuelled a conflict. However, the results of these efforts have been mixed at best. This project, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, provides an in-depth analysis of the political economy of post-conflict statebuilding, assessing the impact of statebuilding on the distribution of power and of scarce resources in post-conflict societies. Our research group brings together renowned international scholars and practitioners to examine a range of case studies of post-conflict statebuilding, as well as three major thematic issues cutting across the different cases: institution-building and political representation; economic reform; and the statebuilding practices of selected international actors. The project will culminate in a Wilton Park conference in February 2011, as well as a major edited volume of the research group contributions and a co-authored monograph on the political economy of post-conflict statebuilding.
Atrocities in Insurgencies and Counterinsurgencies
Dr Dale Walton, Prof Beatrice Heuser
A conference project, jointly organised by the School of Politics & IR with the Department of History, University of Reading, and other institutions, on Counterinsurgency (2009, still working on publication of conference proceedings, to be published as a special issue of Civil Wars, a peer-reviewed journal). Papers have now been received by a mix of practitioners and academics.
Conflict and post-conflict in Africa?
Professor Peter Woodward
Emeritus Professor Peter Woodward has been conducting or overseeing a series of research projects relating to armed conflict in Africa. A particular focus has been his research on the history of The Sudan, including the Sudan Peace Process Sudan in 2005 and the ongoing Darfur crisis. Professor Woodward acts as a consultant and advisor to FCO/DFID and continues to edit annual volumes of British Foreign Office Documents on Africa. He is currently writing a book on the liberal approach to conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa.
IV. Understandings and Representations of War and Conflict
The way in which a legitimate international order, and within this war and conflict, are understood differs not only historically but also between different cultures. Exploring such different understandings is a central part of this research theme. A major aspect of this research is the Leverhulme funded programme The Liberal Way of War: Strategy, Ideology, Representations, examining the ways in which liberal states justify and represent their recourse to war and violence and conduct military operations, and critically assesses the geo-politics of the liberal peace and the de-limitation of political spaces inherent in certain aspects of liberal thought. It also assesses competing conceptions of conflict, such as Islamic conceptions of jihad and just war, and the epistemology of global terrorism. Dr.Andreas Behnke, Professor Alan Cromartie and Dr.Christina Hellmich work in this area.
The Origins of Liberal-Rights Talk
Professor Alan Cromartie
Alan Cromartie's work in this field within and beyond the Liberal Way Programme extends into the early modern period his fundamental research into the origins of rights-talk. Recent lectures and papers on subjects as apparently remote as Aristotle's The Politics and General Petraeus's counterinsurgency manual are intended as preliminary studies for a monograph - Men, laws, and rights-based order - that sets out to relate the modern appeal to 'human rights' to earlier invocations of the concept. In doing so, it documents the spread of universalistic theories that shape and constrain even military action.
Critical Terrorism Studies
Dr Andreas Behnke, Dr Christina Hellmich
Critical Terrorism Studies analyses the basic assumptions behind particular definitions of terrorism and the political effects of related political and governmental practices It also studies the discursive construction of terrorism, in official and public media narratives. The School has introduced a UG and a PG Module on the subject. Within this subject area, Dr Behnke and Dr Hellmich cooperate on two inter-related projects. The first of these projects is entitled The Epistemology of Terrorism: Knowing al Qaeda. It deals with the challenges terrorism in general, and al Qaeda in particular, pose to Liberal understandings of political order and practice. The project conducted a successful workshop in December 2009 at the University of Reading. Also, Drs Behnke and Hellmich presented papers related to this project at the 2010 PSA Conference in Edinburgh. The project will conclude with the publication of an edited volume, to be published by Ashgate in 2011.
Terrorism and the new Nomos of the World
Dr Andreas Behnke
Combining his interest in new forms of political violence and in Critical Geopolitics, Dr Behnke is developing a project focusing on the enduring effects of global Terrorism and the Global War on Terror on the structure of global politics. More specifically, the purpose of this project is to investigate the way these inter-related phenomena lead to the emergence of different political spaces that contend with the traditional structure of sovereign statehood. The project argues that the latter principle has been supplemented by a culturally charged re-definition of inter-national relations, the (re-)introduction of imperial relations, and the institutionalisation of exceptional spaces. The project will be the basis of a major grant application to the ESRC and the ERC.
Critical Readings of Kant's Political Theory
Dr Andreas Behnke
Within the context of the Leverhulme funded project The Liberal Way of War: Strategy, Ideology, Representations, Dr Behnke is conducting a project that critically re-evaluates Kant's writings on war and peace. The project is based on the assumption that the dominant influence of Kant on Liberal understandings of international politics, including the conditions for (perpetual) peace and the role of war, warrants a critical investigation into the contradictions and aporias within Kant's political theory in order to demonstrate the often ideological and oversimplified interpretation of his work that underlies this influence.
Al-Qaeda: From Global Network to Local Franchise
Dr Christina Hellmich
The project provides an empirical overview of the organization, its members and ideological make-up and maps its transition from a global network to localized fragments in the broader context of theoretical and conceptual concerns that arise from the post-9/11 debate. These include questions over different forms of violence in the international system, the nature and role of ideology, and the contest over the legitimacy of political structures. The particular questions to be raised about al-Qaeda are:
- When did al-Qaeda turn from a local 'rebel' movement in Afghanistan to a globalised 'terrorist' organization?
- What types of political violence does al-Qaeda engage in?
- What is the ideology that underlies the violence in the name of Islam? What is the connection between religious and political parameters blurred by the rhetoric of bin Laden? Where does his logic spring from? How does it impact the rationales and self-perceptions of Al Qaeda's followers and supporters?
- What role does ideology play in al-Qaeda's terrorist campaign? Is al-Qaeda being de-ideologised in the Western media and political rhetoric as a means of demonising its actions?
- What are the drivers behind al-Qaeda's terrorist violence? What role, if any, does class within Islamic countries, and within the international economic structure play? Are these traditional concerns still relevant?
- What does al-Qaeda's campaign tell us about localized terrorist violence in global politics?
The project is published as a book Al-Qaeda: From Global Network to Local Franchise, by ZED in 2011. A spin-off of this project, and a continuation of a previous project on Islamic Preaching in Yemen, is an investigation of Yemen as the (potential) new center of al-Qaeda. A first artice, Al-Qaeda in Yemen: Re-thinking the Islamist Threat, has been published recently.