In our final episode of Series 4, we speak with Paul Rogers on the parallels and differences between the invasions of Iraq and Ukraine, and reflect on some of the key themes that have emerged across the past five months.  Paul is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies in the Department of Peace Studies and International Relations at Bradford University, and an Honorary Fellow at the Joint Service Command and Staff College. You can read his rich body of work as  openDemocracy’s international security correspondent by following this link.  He is on Twitter via @ProfPRogers. Support ..read more

It cannot be denied that the police are becoming more militarised - not just in the United States but here in Britain. Yet this focus on hardware presents the cops and the military as separate entities. In reality, they are built from the same foundations. In this episode we speak with academic and activist Chris Rossdale about the colonial history of the police, how the military is overwhelmingly used in policing roles and why we should see the two institutions as part of the same apparatus of oppression. Part of the discussion centres around the chapter Chris wrote for the book Abolishing ..read more

Think-tanks are a key part of the political process in the UK - indeed globally - but do they actually promote democracy? Which ones have influence, how are they funded, and what role does legacy media have in amplifying their ideas. In this episode we speak with Rethinking Security coordinator Richard Reeve and  academic Kjølv Egeland, experts in the multifaceted world of defence and security think-tanks. They discuss how funding plays a key role in think-tank output, constraining critique and ensuring the most dominant ideas remain within the boundaries of the status quo. You can read ..read more

As the sentiment goes, there always seems to be money for warfare but never quite enough for welfare. So what's the picture in the UK - that tiny collection of islands with its towering defence expenditure. In this episode, we're joined by Matt Fawcett from the Global Campaign on Military Spending UK to discuss the dark economics of Britain's war machine. Matt talks about the troubling gaps between what Britain spends on its military and what it spends on climate mitigation or carbon reduction targets. Not to mention international aid budgets. He also adds the GCOMS take on NATO spending comm ..read more

Foreign and military policy doesn’t cut through to voters, or so it is said. What matters to the public is bread and butter economic policy or GP surgery hours. Yet, is it really the case that people simply don’t care about, for example, Yemen? And if not, why not? Is it the case that the main parties are so alike on these matters that there appears to be no space for debate? Much was made of Qatar's human rights record during the men's World Cup, but where was any critique of the RAF's role in training Qatari pilots? And what would it take to put the military industrial complex front and cen ..read more

Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) is the preeminent anti-arms trade organisation in the UK. Their advocacy for a safer and fairer world extends into many realms, including Parliament – where defence firms wield unchecked influence over elected politicians. In this episode we speak with Katie Fallon, CAAT’s Parliamentary Coordinator, to discuss the difficulties of working in spaces where militarism and war are seen as inevitabilities. Our discussion is wide-ranging: from the revolving door to the multi-faceted opportunities for lobbying in a broke political system. You can keep up to date ..read more

When it comes to critiquing and analysing how Government works to support the military, the focus is always on politicians and the lobbying work that seeks to influence then. But what about the people in Whitehall who oil the political machine? Civil servants out-live the ministers, Cabinets and Governments they work for, and have more influence than we fully understand. If the overall culture within the Civil Service is pro-military, then it stands to reason that the mechanics of Government will naturally support the armed forces. In this episode we speak with Hannah Wright, a scholar who ha ..read more

From Deepcut to sexual abuse cases and war crimes, the UK military and MOD are no stranger to legal controversy.  And when you read back through the reportage around this lamentable list one name recurs again and again, acting in opposition to power and in favour of fairness and human rights. Emma Norton is Director and co-founder of the Centre for Military Justice, whose work we at Forces Watch greatly admire. She is also former head of the legal team at human rights organisation Liberty and lectures twice a year at the Defence Academy on human rights and the armed forces.  Emma jo ..read more

Back in 2003, every national British newspaper bar the Guardian supported the invasion of Iraq - including the Guardian's sister paper, the Observer. Unfortunately, this was not anomoly (dodgy dossiers or not). The sad truth is that it is very hard to find critical pieces on the UK's armed forces. And since the Edward Snowden leaks, Britain's intelligence establishment has worked assidiously to ensure that even the Guardian begins to tow the line. You really can’t talk about British defence and security journalism without mentioning today’s guest. Richard Norton-Taylor covered defence and sec ..read more

In this special episode of Warrior Nation, Joe is joined by Dr Ross McGarry to discuss the deeper and varied meanings behind Armed Forces Day. In 2017, when Liverpool hosted the Armed Forces Day national event, Ross ventured out onto the streets of his home town to experience proceedings with a critical - and analytical - eye. He reflects on his findings and highlights how the event offered up a sanatised view of military life that is out of touch with the reality. You can read the Ross' 2019 article in the journal Visual Ethnography here. To find our more about his research areas you can hea ..read more