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The research conducted by Professor Timothy Edmunds has had three primary impacts. First, it has played a role in framing policy and setting the operational agenda for security sector reform (SSR) programmes by national governments and international organisations. Second, the research has had a direct influence on the substance of security and defence reforms in parts of the post-communist and western Balkan regions, particularly in relation to the consolidation of democratic control over the security sector. Finally, it has had an impact on the evolution of British defence policy and armed forces since 2007, and on the debate leading up to the introduction of a new Armed Forces Covenant in May 2011. The research addresses change and transformation in military, police and intelligence agencies through the development and evolution of the concept of SSR. In so doing, it examines how security actors can both threaten and facilitate democratisation and human security goals in post-authoritarian and post-conflict societies, and the manner in which these issues can be addressed through international policy. It also `reverse engineers' the questions and lessons of SSR to interrogate wider challenges of defence transformation and civil-military relations in western democracies, and particularly the UK.
This case study refers to the REF-period impact achieved by Michael J. Williams, who joined the Unit in 2008. His research comprises a number of projects that bring new understandings of risk to bear on the evolution and development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1949, the conceptualization of security in the post-9/11 world and NATO's role in promoting security in the transatlantic area via `out of area' missions such as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Williams combined advisory roles and a strong public profile developed over the period to bring his research to politicians, policymakers and publics both nationally and internationally, engagements that supported the achievement of non-academic impacts of his work. His research has informed the thinking of policy-makers, military officials, international organizations and development actors dealing with security and development, contributed to policy formation at national and international levels, and raised public awareness of the difficulties of policy coordination in conflict and development initiatives.
This research on European cooperation on armaments and homeland security technologies policy has informed discussions within the defence and security policy community. It has enhanced understanding of the most important requirements and conditions for successful cooperation among key defence and security policy actors, including European armaments directors, European parliamentarians and leading think tanks in several European countries. As a result, it significantly shaped debates that led to European Union (EU) policy on the pooling of military resources. It has also been used to inform policy-makers in several countries about the likely effects of EU armaments policy on the defence industry in Europe. Finally, it is being used by non-governmental organisations to inform their campaigns for the introduction of export controls on homeland security technologies.
Political instability and insecurity in Africa have become increasingly salient issues since the 1990s. For historical reasons the UK and France are the two EU member states with long-standing commitments in Africa. Chafer's research has had an impact in three main ways: by providing research-based evidence that has informed decision-making, by providing policy recommendations regarding opportunities for cooperation and by sustaining `institutional memory' concerning the Saint-Malo process, which promised enhanced Anglo-French cooperation on Africa policy. In these ways it has made a significant contribution to enhancing peace and security on the continent.
Professor Ross Anderson's (University of Cambridge) research in security economics has had considerable impact on public policy and industry practice. Through two reports for ENISA, his work has directly influenced European Commission policy on combatting cyber-crime and on protecting the internet infrastructure. Through his membership of a Blackett Review and appearances before parliamentary committees, he has influenced UK government policy on cyber- security. Personally, and through the positions to which members his research team have moved, his research has influenced a range of organisations, including the US government, the European Union, Google, and Microsoft.
The publication of a book in both English and French versions on this subject led to many media interviews in several countries, wide press coverage in the UK and USA especially, the appointment of Robert Tombs to the Franco-British Council, many invitations to lecture to diverse audiences, and to take part in private discussions and seminars with French and British diplomats. Diplomats, whether French or British, now rarely have more than minimal historical knowledge, and this research enables them to understand the cultural and political ramifications and ambiguities of a relationship central to both countries' foreign policy.
Professor Mary Kaldor convened a study group that proposed a new human security doctrine for the European Union at the request of its High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy. This doctrine defined a new approach for EU involvement in situations requiring a security and defence response, with special attention to conflict and disaster in developing countries. It has influenced security and defence policy at the EU and country member levels, and has proved to dramatically reduce violence and contribute to peacekeeping efforts and a return to civil society when applied in conflict-ridden contexts such as Chad, Somalia, Iraq and Libya.
Professor Sasse created, developed and delivered the user-centric perspective that now underpins security thinking in both corporate and public-sector domains. This perspective shaped the UK government's Identity Assurance Programme (IDAP), a federated identity solution that will provide access to all e-government services in the UK. HP has incorporated the compliance budget model into its Security Analytics product, which enables companies to calculate the impact of a given security mechanism on individual and corporate productivity. Sasse's work also underpins new and improved security products, including First Cyber Security's SOLID and Safe Shop Window tools, which protects over 70% of UK online shopping revenue; GrIDSure's one-time PIN system (now part of the SafeNet Authentication Service); and iProov's authentication service.
The analysis and evaluation of the performance of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) by Dr. Kirsten E. Schulze, an expert on the contemporary history of the Aceh conflict in Indonesia, contributed in four main ways to the improvement of EU peacekeeping missions and the adoption of a human security doctrine. Firstly, changes were made to the composition of peacekeeping missions to achieve a greater gender balance. Secondly, the training and preparation of external civilian security missions were altered with respect to greater gender sensitivity in the field. Thirdly, the AMM evaluation has, alongside other evaluations of European Security and Defence Policy (ESPD) missions, become part of the material studied by practitioners when undertaking training at the European Crisis Management Centre in Finland, which has also prepared a manual based on this research. Finally, and more generally, the research on the AMM (and other evaluations of ESPD missions) has served as the basis for devising a specifically European approach to security within the framework of the human security doctrine outlined in the September 2004 Barcelona Report.
In contrast to many European countries, public performance of music in languages other than English is still rare in the UK. French specialist Peter Hawkins has been researching and teaching the genre of chanson as a key element of French popular culture for most of his career. His research has fed into a regular series of public engagement activities over the past decade and beyond, including public performances of French chanson at a variety of venues. In a set of concerts given in spring 2013, Hawkins performed his own English translations of French chansons by the sometimes controversial Monegasque writer Léo Ferré, who is exceptionally well-known in France but much less so in the UK. The aim was to bring this particular type of musical poetry to a non-French-speaking audience. Feedback from the various audiences shows that some 70% feel that singing French chanson in English was a success and significantly extended and enhanced their cultural experience.