War Studies Department of War Studies

*This episode was recorded in early March 2024, before the recent escalation of violence in Sudan.

South Sudan may be the youngest country in the world, but it’s already undergone a huge amount of violence – and the ongoing civil war in Sudan looks set to bring further instability.

In this episode, Dr Costanza Torre and Dr Fiona McEwen discuss XCEPT’s research in South Sudan, which aims to understand how experiences of conflict may lead someone to engage in violent, instead of peaceful, behaviour. They discuss the importance of hiring local researchers, the challenges of carrying out research in South Sudan, and how mental health disorders may be understood differently in South Sudan.

This research is being undertaken as part of a project called XCEPT, which is funded by UK International Development from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

XCEPT aims to understand the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour in conflict-affected populations – and to find solutions that support peace. Find out more about XCEPT at xcept-research.org.

What makes a person or a community resilient to violent extremism? Are these inherent characteristics or are they something that can be taught?

‘Resilience’ has become a buzzword in the field of countering violent extremism (CVE), but how useful is it? In this episode, Federica Calissano interviews Dr Nafees Hamid about the benefits and drawbacks of CVE initiatives which focus on building resilience to violent extremism.

Read Federica’s blog post: What do we mean when we talk about ‘resilience’ to violent extremism?

This research is being undertaken as part of a project called XCEPT, which is funded by UK International Development from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. XCEPT aims to understand the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour in conflict-affected populations – and to find solutions that support peace. Find out more about XCEPT at xcept-research.org.

After two decades of violent conflict in the city of Mosul, Iraq, Dr Omar Mohammed, founder of the Mosul Eye organisation, started a tree-planting initiative to help bring communities together. In the United States, Dr Marc Zimmerman examined how greening and improvement initiatives reduced crime in cities that had suffered economic decline.

In this episode, Dr Omar Mohammed and Dr Marc Zimmerman, interviewed by Dr Nafees Hamid, discuss the role of greening initiatives in these two different contexts, exploring how they can promote peace, build trust between communities and authorities, and help to increase resilience against violent crime and extremism.

This research is being undertaken as part of a project called XCEPT, which is funded by UK International Development from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. XCEPT aims to understand the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour in conflict-affected populations – and to find solutions that support peace.

Find out more about XCEPT at xcept-research.org.

How has the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant impacted nuclear security and safety?

In this podcast episode we explore nuclear security and safety and the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with Dr Ross Peel, a Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies and the Centre for Science & Security Studies.

Wargaming has surged in popularity in recent years, drawing substantial financial backing from militaries, governments and the private sector alike. But what are wargames and how are they being used within the defence industry to navigate present and future conflicts?

In this episode, Dr David Banks, Lecturer in Wargaming and co-director of King's Wargaming Network at King’s College London, guides us through the complex world of wargaming and its different applications. He talks us through some of the wargames he has created and how the method is likely to evolve with emerging technologies.

For more information, follow King’s Wargaming Network on Twitter @kclwargaming.

“So far, six million Ukrainians are estimated to have left the country to flee Russia's full-scale invasion. And because of military service requirements in Ukraine, most of these refugees are women. In some host countries, such as Italy, Poland and Estonia, the share of women among Ukrainian refugees exceeds 80%”, says Dr Daryna Dvornichenko a Visiting Research Fellow at The Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College London and the University of Oxford.

In conversation with Nandana Thipperudraiah, co-leader of Women in War and International Politics (WIWIP) at King’s College London, Daryna shares insights gleaned from over 50 interviews with internally displaced women within Ukraine, shedding light on the challenges they face and the resilience they exhibit in the face of adversity.