The Department of War Studies (DWS) is an academic department in the School of Security Studies within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in London, United Kingdom. Along with other politics and international studies units at King's College London, it ranks amongst the top places for international relations in the world. The department is devoted to the multi-disciplinary study of war and diplomacy within the broad remit of international relations. The department's alumni includes senior government officials, military personnel, diplomats, journalists, academics and businesspeople. Amongst them are former Prime Minister of Jordan Marouf al-Bakhit; Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Tom de Bruijn and former Commandant General Royal Marines Sir Robert Fry. The department is affiliated with numerous think-tanks and foreign policy institutions. It also houses numerous research institutes and centres, including the

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (LHCMA) at King's College London was set up in 1964. The Centre holds the private papers of over 700 senior British defence personnel who held office since 1900. Individual collections range in size fr ...

. Since 2019, the Head of Department has been Michael Goodman. The Department of War Studies is located on the 6th floor of the King's Building on the Strand Campus of King's College London.

History

A Department of Military Science existed at King's College London from 1848 to 1859. Military Science was subsequently approved as a subject for the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science general degrees from 1913, and was taught under the Faculty of Arts and also the Faculty of Engineering. In 1926 the intervention of William Norton Medlicott prevented the Department of History from ridding itself of the lectureship in Military History. With War Office support the Military Studies Department was established in 1926 and formed part of the Faculty of Arts, with Major General Sir Frederick Barton Maurice holding the Chair. It became known as the War Studies Department in 1943 but was discontinued in 1948, although the subject continued to be taught under the Department of Medieval and Modern History. Following World War II, there was an initiative by senior members of University of London notably Lionel Robbins, Sir Charles Webster and Keith Hancock, to revive Military Studies at the University. In 1953,

Sir Michael Howard Sir Michael Eliot Howard (29 November 1922 – 30 November 2019) was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University ...

was appointed to the Lectureship in Military Studies, and by 1962 Sir Michael was able to reinstate the Department of War Studies to offer postgraduate courses. A Bachelor of Arts degree in War Studies was offered from 1992 onwards. The department became part of the School of Humanities in 1989 and the School of Social Science and Public Policy in 2001. In 2012 the department celebrated its 50th anniversary, with a series of celebratory events to mark the occasion.

Notable alumni and students

Government and politics

* Marouf al-Bakhit (PhD 1990), former

Prime Minister of Jordan The prime minister of Jordan is the head of government of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The prime minister is appointed by the List of kings of Jordan, king of Jordan, who is then free to form his own Cabinet of Jordan, Cabinet. Th ...

* Martin Bourke (MA 1970), former Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands * Tom de Bruijn (MA 1974), Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation *

Eoghan Murphy Eoghan Murphy (born Dublin, 23 April 1982) is a former Fine Gael politician who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency from 2016 until 27 April 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Dublin South-East constitu ...

(MA 2005), former Irish Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. * Tan Chuan-Jin (MA 1999), Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore * Kayode Fayemi (PhD 1987), Nigerian Governor * Mark Francois (MA 1987), Conservative Member of UK Parliament * John Freeman (PhD 1984) Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands * Christopher Geidt, Baron Geidt (MA 1987), Crossbench peer * Natalia Gherman (MA 1999), former Acting Prime Minister of Moldova *

John Hillen John Francis Hillen III (born February 3, 1966) is an American business executive and diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs from October 11, 2005 to January 11, 2007. He served as President and CEO ...

(MA 1993), former US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs *

Dan Jarvis Daniel Owen Woolgar Jarvis (born 30 November 1972) is a British Labour Party politician and former British Army officer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley Central since 2011. He also served as the Mayor of South Yorks ...

(MA 2011), Labour Member of UK Parliament *

Imran Ahmad Khan Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan (born 6 September 1973) is a British former politician and convicted sex offender who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield from the 2019 general election until 2022. Elected as a Conservative, Ahmad Khan ha ...

(BA, 1996), Conservative Member of UK Parliament * Nickolay Mladenov (MA 1996), UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process * Jiří Šedivý (MA 1994), Director of European Defence Agency, former Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO * Keith Simpson (postgraduate research 1972), former Conservative Member of Parliament *

Pritam Singh Pritam Singh may refer to: * Pritam Singh (Singaporean politician) (born 1976), Singaporean politician * Pritam Singh (soldier) (military service 1942–51), Indian military officer * Pritam Singh (gymnast) (born 1924), Indian Olympic gymnast * ...

(MA 2004), Singaporean Opposition Leader *

Shaun Spiers Shaun Mark Spiers (born 23 April 1962) is the Executive Director of the environmental think-tank, Green Alliance and a former Member of the European Parliament. Biography He was educated at Brentwood School, read PPE at St John's College, Ox ...

(MA 1985), former Labour Member of the European Parliament *

Eleni Stavrou Eleni Stavrou (born 4 July 1975) to Stavros Stavrou and Androulla Xenophontos is a Democratic Rally Member of the Cyprus House of Representatives for Limassol constituency. She studied English literature at the National and Kapodistrian Universi ...

(MA; PhD), Member of the

Cyprus House of Representatives The House of Representatives ( el, Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων ; tr, Temsilciler Meclisi) is the national unicameral legislature of the Republic of Cyprus. Members and three observers representing Armenian, Latin, and Maronite C ...

Military, security and diplomacy

A.T.M. Zahirul Alam Abu Tayeb Muhammad Zahirul Alam, rcds, psc, is a retired lieutenant general of Bangladesh Army. He served as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). He was the first officer in Bangladesh army to achieve such high post i ...

(MA 1993), former Force Commander of United Nations Mission in Liberia * Sir Adrian Bradshaw (MA 2005), former

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

and former UK Commander of Land Forces *

Paul Crespo Paul Crespo (born June 8, 1964) is a conservative political commentator, consultant and activist. A former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, he has had a varied military and civilian career, and gained notoriety for his strong political opinions ...

(MA 1990), former US Marine captain, risk analyst and activist *

Peter Drissell Air Commodore Peter James Drissell (born 24 November 1955) is a retired Royal Air Force officer. He is currently Director of Aviation Security at the Civil Aviation Authority. He previously served as Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment, an ...

(MA 1994), former Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment *

Richard A. Falkenrath Richard A. Falkenrath Jr. (born March 25, 1969) served as deputy commissioner of counter-terrorism of the New York City Police Department from 2006 to 2010. He was the third person to hold this position. His predecessors were Frank Libutti and Mi ...

(PhD 1993), former Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism at NYPD * Sir Robert Fry (MA 1987), former Commandant General Royal Marines * Sir Wira Gardiner (MA 1980), New Zealander public servant *

Judith Gough Judith Mary Gough Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (born 8 November 1972) is a British diplomat and the current List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden, Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Sweden.Syed Ata Hasnain Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM & Bar is a retired General of the Indian Army. His last assignment in service was as the Military Secretary of the Indian Army. Prior to that, he commanded the Indian Army's 15 ...

(MA 2006), former Military Secretary of the Indian Army * Md Hashim bin Hussein (MA 1991), former Chief of the Malaysian Army *

Ola Ibrahim Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim (born 15 June 1955) is a retired Nigerian Navy admiral and former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Educated at Ahmadu Bello University (LLB) and King's College London (MA, War Studies), Ibrahim had h ...

(MA 2002), former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces *

Martin Kimani Mbugua Martin Kimani (born 1971) is a Kenyan government official and diplomat. He has served as Kenya's Permanent Representative to the United Nations since December 2020. He previously served as the Director of the National Counter Terrorism C ...

(MA 2003, PhD 2010), Kenya's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Ahmad Massoud (BA, 2015), President of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan * Sir Simon Mayall (MA 2003), former British Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff *

Hugh Mortimer Hugh may refer to: * Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

(MA 1973), former British Ambassador to Slovenia * Sir Tim Radford (MA),

Maroof Raza Maroof Raza (born 1959) is a retired Indian Army officer with experience in counter-insurgency operations. He is a well known media commentator on global, military and security issues. His ‘talks’ range from the ‘threats of terrorism’ t ...

(MA), Indian strategic affairs analyst *

Ayesha Siddiqa Ayesha Siddiqa ( ur, ), (born April 7, 1966), is a Pakistani political scientist, a political commentator and an author who serves as a research associate at the SOAS South Asia Institute. She previously served as the inaugural Pakistan Fellow ...

(PhD 1996), Pakistani military scientist *

Stuart Skeates Lieutenant General Stuart Richard Skeates, (born 1966) is a British Army officer. He served as Deputy Commander of JFC Brunssum from December 2018 to December 2021. He also previously served as Standing Joint Force Commander from 2015 to 2018. ...

(MA 1999), British Standing Joint Force Commander *

Frank A. Rose Frank A. Rose (born 1972) served as the Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Biden administration from August 2021 to April 2024. From 2018 to 2021, he was co-director of the Center for Security, ...

(MA 1999), US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance *

Nawaf Obaid Nawaf Essam Ahmad Obaid (Arabic: نواف عصام احمد عبید) is a Saudi Arabian political scientist, and a former foreign policy & media advisor. He currently serves as the CEO of the Essam & Dalal OBAID Foundation (EDOF) in Geneva, a Co ...

(MA 2011, PhD 2013), political scientist and former Saudi foreign policy advisor * Petr Pavel (MA 2006), former Chief of General Staff of the Czech Army and former Chairman of NATO Military Committee

Academia, media and business

Ali Ansari Ali Massoud Ansari FRSE ( fa, علی مسعود انصاری, born 24 November 1967 in Rome) is the Professor in Modern History with reference to the Middle East at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he is also the founding directo ...

(MA 1990), Professor of History at the University of St Andrews *

Ruaridh Arrow Ruaridh Arrow is a British journalist and film-maker known for his 2011 feature documentary ''How to Start a Revolution'' about Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Gene Sharp. The film was described as an underground hit with the Occupy movement, whic ...

(BA 2001), Senior producer BBC Newsnight, writer and film-maker *

Abdul Razak Baginda Abdul Razak Baginda (born 6 February 1960) is a former political analyst from Malaysia, and close associate of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He became prominent in 2006 when he was charged with abetting the murder of a Mongolian ...

, (MA 1984), Malaysian political analyst * Brian Bond (MA 1962), Military historian * Ahron Bregman (PhD 1994), British-Israeli political scientist *

Paula Broadwell Paula Dean Broadwell (née Kranz; born November 9, 1972) is an American writer, academic and former military officer. Broadwell served in the US Army on both active and reserve duty for over 20 years, including time as a military school undergrad ...

(PhD Student), biographer of General David Petraeus *

Matthew Bryden Matthew Bryden is a Canadian political analyst active in the Horn of Africa. He worked for several aid and political organizations in Somalia after spending some time in the region during his leave from the Canadian military in 1987. He served as ...

(PhD Student), Canadian political activist *

Youri Cormier Youri may refer to: Places *Youri, Mali, a small town and commune in south-western Mali *Youri, Niger, a village and rural commune in Niger People *Youri Djorkaeff (born 1968), former French-Armenian football player *Youri Mulder (born 1969), form ...

(PhD 2014), author, professor Royal Military College of Canada, director Conference of Defence Associations (est. 1932) *

Gwynne Dyer Michael Gwynne Dyer (born 17 April 1943) is a British-Canadian military historian, author, professor, journalist, broadcaster, and retired naval officer. Dyer rose to prominence in the 1980s with the release of his television series ''War'' in 1 ...

(PhD 1973), journalist *

Andrew Exum Andrew Exum is an American scholar of the Middle East, a former U.S. Army officer. He was a part of General Stanley McChrystal's review of the American strategy in Afghanistan. Life After graduating from The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenne ...

(PhD 2010), Middle East Scholar *

Daniel Ford Daniel Ford (born 1931 in Arlington, Massachusetts) is an American journalist, novelist, and historian. The son of Patrick and Anne Ford, he attended public schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, graduating in 1950 from Brewster Academy in ...

(MA 2010), author *

Ian Gooderson Ian Gooderson is a senior lecturer in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London. He teaches and publishes on twentieth-century military and strategic studies, especially air power. Gooderson gained his MA and PhD degrees from th ...

(MA PhD), Naval historian * Andrew Gordon (PhD 1983), Naval historian *

Eric Grove Eric Grove (1948 - 15 April 2021) was a British naval historian and defence analyst. Biography Grove was born in Bolton, Lancashire in 1948. He took an MA in War Studies at King's College London in 1971 and was appointed that year as a civili ...

(MA 1971), British Naval historian *

Rosemary Hollis Rosemary Hollis (27 March 1952 – 5 June 2020) was a British political scientist. Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at City University London until her retirement in 2018, Hollis was known for her expertise and scholarship on the relation ...

(MA 1975) British political scientist *

Sam Instone Sam Instone (born 3 August 1977) is a British businessman who is the founder and current chief executive of AES International. This organization became the fastest growing UK financial services business between 2008 and 2012 and was the winne ...

(BA 1998), Founder and current Chief Executive of AES International * Andrew Lambert (MA PhD), Military historian *

Michael A. Levi Michael A. Levi was a Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Economic Policy in the Obama White House. He was previously the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and environment at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a nonpart ...

(PhD 2006), CFR Senior Fellow *

Sophie Long Sophie Rebecca Long (born 7 December 1976) is an English journalist who works for BBC News, mainly appearing as a presenter on the BBC News Channel. On 18 March 2013, Long and co-presenter Simon McCoy read the final BBC News bulletin from BBC T ...

(BA 1997), BBC News presenter *

Diana Magnay Diana Magnay is a British journalist who is currently Sky News' Moscow correspondent. She was educated at Wycombe Abbey, and holds a BA in Modern History from St Hugh's College, Oxford where she received the Arnold Modern History Prize in 1999, and ...

(MA 2016), journalist *

Peter R. Neumann Peter R. Neumann (born 4 December 1974) is a German journalist and academic who frequently appears on radio and television as an expert on terrorism and political violence. He is the Founding Director of the International Centre for the Study o ...

(PhD 2002), Terrorism expert * Peter Paret (PhD 1960), Military historian * Tom Rogan (BA 2008), journalist * Philip Sabin (PhD 1984), Military historian *

Yezid Sayigh Yezid Sayigh ( ar, يزيد صايغ) (b. 1955) is a senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon. Previously, he was a professor of Middle East Studies at the Department of War Studies at King's College London, a member ...

(PhD 1987), Middle East scholar *

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played right ...

(PhD 1994), Military historian * David Stahel (MA 2000), historian *

Nicholas Stuart Nicholas Stuart is an Australian journalist who is currently a columnist with ''The Canberra Times'' and editor-in-chief of ability.news'. He is the author of three books about Australian politics. Early life Stuart is the child of Ron Stuart, a ...

(MA 1984), journalist *

Geoffrey Till Geoffrey Till (born in London, England, on 14 January 1945) is a British naval historian and emeritus Professor of Maritime Studies in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London. He is the Director of the Corbett Centre for Marit ...

(PhD 1976), Maritime historian *

Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's elde ...

(BA 1996), Director of Transnational Crisis Project *

Kieran West Kieran Martin West (born 18 September 1977) is a retired English rower and Olympic champion who represented Great Britain. Education Born in Kingston upon Thames, West was educated at Dulwich College, in south-east London, before going to Ch ...

(MA 2005), Olympic gold medal-winning rower * Colin White (MA 1975), former Director of the Royal Naval Museum

Past and present faculty

* James M. Acton *

Robert J. Art Robert Jeffrey Art is Christian A. Herter Professor of International Relations at Brandeis University, and Fellow at MIT Center for International Studies. He subscribes to the theory of neorealism, which argues that force still underlies the power ...

Mats Berdal Mats R. Berdal (born 5 October 1965) is Professor of Security and Development at the Department of War Studies, King's College London. Early life Mats R. Berdal was born on 5 October 1965. He gained a BSc degree from the London School of Economics ...

* John Bew *

Didier Bigo Didier Bigo (born 31 August 1956) is a French academic from Lille and Professor of International Relations at King's College London and at Sciences Po, Paris. He has authored two books, ''Polices en réseaux. L'expérience européenne'' (1996) and ' ...

Philip Bobbitt Philip Chase Bobbitt, (born July 22, 1948) is an American author, academic, and lawyer. He is best known for work on U.S. constitutional law and theory, and on the relationship between law, strategy and history in creating and sustaining the S ...

* Brian Bond * Ahron Bregman *

Bill Durodié Professor Bill Durodié is Chair of Risk and Security in International Relations at the University of Bath, UK. He is a former head of the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies there. His 2011 articles investigating how the ...

Nicholas Eftimiades Nicholas Eftimiades is an American government official, author, and educator best known for his work ''Chinese Intelligence Operations'' (1994). He currently resides in the Tokyo area. He is a current professor at Penn State Harrisburg. Educ ...

* Joel Hayward *

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

Vivienne Jabri Vivienne Jabri is a British academic and writer. She is Professor of International Politics in the Department of War Studies, King's College London. Affiliations * ''Groundzero: Conflitti globali'' (editorial board member) * ISA's International ...

* Ashley Jackson *

Mark Laity Mark F. Laity (born 1955 in Truro, Cornwall, UK) is a NATO spokesman and former BBC correspondent. He gained a BA(hons) and MA from the University of York. Laity later also became a Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Defence St ...

* Andrew Lambert * Lawrence Freedman * Thomas Gomart *

Barry M. Gough Barry Morton Gough is a global maritime and naval historian. Education Gough was educated at Victoria High School and was a 1957 graduate of Victoria College, which preceded University of Victoria. He completed his bachelor of education degree ...

* Beatrice Heuser * Richard Ned Lebow * Anatol Lieven *

Colin J. McInnes Colin John McInnes (born 18 June 1960) is Pro Vice Chancellor (Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation) aAberystwyth Universityand holds a personal professorial chair in thDepartment of International Politicsthere, where his research focuses on ...

* Anand Menon *

John Nagl John Albert Nagl (born February 28, 1966) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. He is a former president of the Center for a New American Security and former headmaster of The Haverford School. Nagl is an expert in counterins ...

David Omand Sir David Bruce Omand (born 15 April 1947) is a British former senior civil servant who served as the Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) from 1996 to 1997. Background Omand was born on 15 April 1947. His father, Br ...

Richard Overy Richard James Overy (born 23 December 1947) is a British historian who has published on the history of World War II and Nazi Germany. In 2007, as ''The Times'' editor of ''Complete History of the World'', he chose the 50 key dates of world his ...

* Friedbert Pflüger * Jonathon Riley * Andrew Roberts * Philip Sabin * John Sawers *

Nigel Sheinwald Sir Nigel Elton Sheinwald (born 26 June 1953) is a former senior British diplomat, who served as Ambassador to the United States of America between October 2007 and January 2012. He was appointed " Special Envoy on intelligence and law enforce ...

* Jack Spence * Julian Thompson * Cedric Thornberry * Guglielmo Verdirame * Kenneth Waltz *

Simon Wessely Sir Simon Charles Wessely (born 23 December 1956) is a British psychiatrist. He is Regius Professor of Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and head of its department of psychological medicine, vice dean for academi ...

* Ken Young *

Peter Zimmerman Peter D. Zimmerman (June 15, 1941, Portsmouth, Virginia – August 27, 2021 Washington, D. C.) was an American nuclear physicist, arms control expert, and former Chief Scientist of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At his death, he was Eme ...

Tolstoy Cup

The Tolstoy Cup is an annual

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

match played between the students of the Department of War Studies at King's and the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford since 1995. The rivalry between 'Peace Studies' and 'War Studies' was featured on the '' Financial Times'' list of "Great college sports rivalries". The competition is named after '' War and Peace'', the 1869 novel written by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. The "trophy" is a framed copy of the book. It is kept by the department of the current winners.

References

External links

Official website of the Department of War Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Department Of War Studies, KCL Departments of King's College London Military education and training in the United Kingdom 1962 establishments in the United Kingdom Schools of international relations