McFate-F35-Gilli

Season 2, Podcast #3: Dr Andrea Gilli x Dr Sean McFate

‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ is a quote often shared from the Roman writer Vegetius. Our guests today use their background working with General Petraeus, the Italian Ministry of Defence, NATO’s Defense College, private military companies, and the US’ National Defense University to debate how the West might prepare for war if it …

Alastair-Nicol-Grand-Strategy

What is ‘Grand’ About Grand Strategy?

When setting out a new path, or the next step in the current path, leaders will often make reference to history. “[insert country] has always…” is the line so often parroted. To take one example, Putin’s speech with Tucker Carlson made frequent and incessant references to Russia’s supposed history to justify his invasion of Ukraine. …

Laura-Sjoberg-Feminist-Security-Studies

Season 2, Podcast #2 – Professor Laura Sjoberg

General Barrow once said that “War is a man’s work… you have to protect the manliness of war”. But when men are given the exclusive role of protecting their country, there is an implication that they also have authority and responsibility over the protected. In today’s episode, we dive into the field of Feminist Security …

Season 2, Podcast #1 – Professor Phillips O’Brien

Author’s Note: Welcome back to the BIGA Podcast! This season, we’re focusing on Security, Strategy, and Defence to explore the threats, challenges, and opportunities facing the UK and what it can do to prepare. Let us know what themes you would like us to explore in future seasons! The news is rife with bombastic personalities …

People-Strategy-Stop-The-War

Who is Strategy For?

I’m excited to announce that next week, season two of the BIGA podcast will begin and the theme for the season will be: Security, Strategy, and Defence. With Peter Jones helping to round out our season on diplomacy, it seems a fitting leap to discuss all things security. I’ve written previously about strategy, in particular …

Adolescence-patriarchy-masculinity

Bad Apples: Adolescence, masculinity, and expression in the UK

Author’s Note: This piece is looking at the recent Netflix show Adolescence as a starting point for conversation about gender in the UK. As such, there will be spoilers about the show and I would recommend you watch it before reading this piece. ‘overall, male emotional repression is good, actually’. This was one of the …