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Professor Gareth Stansfield's research at the University of Exeter into aspects of post-2003 Iraq has informed UK government and international policy towards Iraq since the invasion, and has had impact on policy makers in the US and the UN, through interventions raised and derived from his research. Specifically, his research has had an impact in three areas:
Reducing the humanitarian suffering associated with conflict is a vital but demanding task, not least because continuing developments in science and technology enable ever more destructive capabilities. Brian Rappert's research has benefited international efforts to limit the consequences of the use of force. It has done this by challenging conventional wisdom, identifying poorly recognized issues; evaluating emerging policy initiatives by governments, international agencies, science academies and non-government agencies; establishing new practitioner networks; facilitating international debate; shaping international diplomatic agendas; influencing professional standards and training through the development of resources; and successfully advocating a strategy for negotiating a major disarmament treaty.
Since the end of the Cold War, and especially in the last decade, the armed forces have undergone profound organizational and cultural transformations. Anthony King's research has been able to make a notable contribution to this process. Through critical sociological analysis, he has: enhanced the British army's socio-political grasp of key contemporary theatres of operation; informed the education and training of high-ranking officers; and stimulated debates about defence policy. He has also developed close relationships with the armed forces and the defence policy communities, as well as communicating his expertise to a wider audience through various media appearances. In sum, King's work on and with the armed forces has had an impact in three key areas: influencing the execution of military operations; shaping military training and education; informing public policy debate.
This case study demonstrates the impact of historical research into conflict management and resolution on:
This case study is based on research into the history of conflict resolution/management, peace implementation and public diplomacy in Europe, North America, Sri Lanka and Australia.
The research involved the first uncensored documentation of the contemporary UK military pathway and has been used internationally to raise awareness in professional participants and the general public of the ethical and practical complexities of militarised healthcare.
The impact of this research was evidenced within three distinct> territories: 1. Informing improvements in military and civilian training leading to the creation of standard briefing materials for British deployed forces, medics and civilians to ensure early awareness of the `care pathway'; 2. Establishing additional reference points within contemporary art discourse and reflecting on the role of independent observers of conflict; and 3. Aiding patient recovery and understanding by helping individuals reconcile the profound change that they have undergone through injury and by establishing precedents for a format of comprehensive patient diaries, enabling longer-term understanding of traumatic experience.
The Build the Truce (BTT) project, undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM), considers the challenges involved in establishing and maintaining a truce during times of conflict. Findings from the research provided the basis for two innovative exhibitions, co-funded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). First, an interactive multimedia display at the Imperial War Museum London (IWML), included as an official part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Second, a Big Picture Show (BPS); part of the rolling programme at the Imperial War Museum North (IWMN). Together these exhibitions, associated public engagement activities and workshops, have both challenged and altered public perceptions of truce, as well as offering a valuable example of how complex and controversial topics can be presented within a museum setting.
Professor Roberts' research insights into the changing character of conflict and the laws of war have informed national and international policy. They have shaped (i) initiatives to reform US and UK military training, official manuals and directives on the laws of war; (ii) improvements to UK detention policies and practices; (iii) the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee's conclusion that the UK's aims in Afghanistan should be re-focussed; (iv) the International Red Cross' view of the legal issues affecting their role in contemporary forms of occupation; and (v) UN assessments of the legal standing of UN forces in particular deployments.
Research led by Professor Hilary Footitt at the University of Reading acted as a catalyst to stimulate interest in languages in conflict situations among language practitioners, the country's principal museum of war, the Ministry of Defence, the International Association of Conference Interpreters, and NGOs. The role of languages in war and conflict had received surprisingly little previous attention and this ground-breaking research gave confidence to the Imperial War Museum to exploit the languages dimension of its collections, contributed to the Ministry of Defence's internal discussions and to its first Joint Doctrine Note on linguistic support for operations, and supported the development of the professional interpreters' Code of Conduct for the employment of interpreters in war.
Research by staff in the Centre for War Studies at the University of Birmingham, has informed continuing professional development (CPD) and training in the Armed Forces in the UK and overseas. This includes the design and delivery of training, study tours and materials for chaplains and NATO senior officers. Additionally academics have facilitated access to research to stimulate policy debate in the Armed Forces through invited presentations to professional conferences, and nationally and internationally by informing the content of Select Committee expert evidence.
Research led by Professor Sultan Barakat of the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU) has had substantial impact in the UK and internationally on the design and use of strategic conflict and stability assessments of war-affected and fragile states. The PRDU enjoys a strong and sustained relationship with the Department for International Development (DfID) and has directly informed the UK's approach to strategic conflict assessment, leading to the creation of the Joint Assessment of Conflict and Stability (JACS) methodology. Impact has now reached beyond the UK with the PRDU commissioned to undertake conflict analyses for other bilateral and multilateral donor organisations using the approach developed with DfID, including a £487,391 project for UNICEF in Somalia that began in 2013.