Harry Swinhoe
@harryswinhoe.bsky.social
Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Global Security Challenges https://css.leeds.ac.uk/profiles/harrison-swinhoe/
Co-Host of Insecure: A Security Studies Podcast https://t.co/SMlJtQ6wRS
Co-Host of Insecure: A Security Studies Podcast https://t.co/SMlJtQ6wRS
Reposted by Harry Swinhoe
A recording of my lecture is now available here. In the missing first 5m, Professor Berry tells the potted history of my rise from 2Cs and a D at A Level, to a Desmond from Nottingham Trent, then from Wollongong (MA) to toil at Aberystwyth, to finally graduating with a PhD from Loughborough in 2008.
November 26, 2025 at 11:04 AM
A recording of my lecture is now available here. In the missing first 5m, Professor Berry tells the potted history of my rise from 2Cs and a D at A Level, to a Desmond from Nottingham Trent, then from Wollongong (MA) to toil at Aberystwyth, to finally graduating with a PhD from Loughborough in 2008.
Reposted by Harry Swinhoe
Out now! New edited book “New Directions in Vernacular Security” with Palgrave. Great working with @leejarvis.bsky.social & @akinoyawale.bsky.social to bring it together. Great contributions-from Rohingya refugee camps, to military self help books & more in between
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
New Directions in Vernacular Security Research
This book provides a fresh perspective on vernacular security, featuring diverse case studies and unique sources to enrich your understanding.
link.springer.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Out now! New edited book “New Directions in Vernacular Security” with Palgrave. Great working with @leejarvis.bsky.social & @akinoyawale.bsky.social to bring it together. Great contributions-from Rohingya refugee camps, to military self help books & more in between
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
#POLI3097 A discussions with Dan about the US and intelligence liaison.
🗣️What the U.S. loses when our allies stop sharing intelligence
🎧Listen back to @nottspolitics.bsky.social's UK intelligence expert Dan Lomas @sandbaggerone.bsky.social on the On Point show on @npr.org ⬇️
www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...
🎧Listen back to @nottspolitics.bsky.social's UK intelligence expert Dan Lomas @sandbaggerone.bsky.social on the On Point show on @npr.org ⬇️
www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...
What the U.S. loses when our allies stop sharing intelligence
Intelligence sharing between the U.S. and its allies has long been a powerful national security tool. But recently, some allies have stopped sharing key intelligence with the United States. What does ...
www.wbur.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:23 AM
#POLI3097 A discussions with Dan about the US and intelligence liaison.
Reposted by Harry Swinhoe
BISA at 50: Take a look back at our first ever BISA conference
with Professor Jack Holland 🌟
What notable events were taking place on the world stage at that time? And are they still relevant in IR today? 🎉
Read here now 👉 https://ow.ly/RqvL50Xqolq
@julietdryden.bsky.social
with Professor Jack Holland 🌟
What notable events were taking place on the world stage at that time? And are they still relevant in IR today? 🎉
Read here now 👉 https://ow.ly/RqvL50Xqolq
@julietdryden.bsky.social
BISA at 50: Reflections and perspectives – The new dimensions of foreign policy (1975!)
Professor Jack Holland looks back at the themes of the first BISA conference, which took place in 1975.
ow.ly
November 17, 2025 at 4:01 PM
BISA at 50: Take a look back at our first ever BISA conference
with Professor Jack Holland 🌟
What notable events were taking place on the world stage at that time? And are they still relevant in IR today? 🎉
Read here now 👉 https://ow.ly/RqvL50Xqolq
@julietdryden.bsky.social
with Professor Jack Holland 🌟
What notable events were taking place on the world stage at that time? And are they still relevant in IR today? 🎉
Read here now 👉 https://ow.ly/RqvL50Xqolq
@julietdryden.bsky.social
#POLI3097 Very Relevant to this week's discussions on Intelligence Liaison
I wrote on the UK's reported suspension of some intel sharing with the US on legal grounds. I spoke to several former intel officials & all agreed that they could not think of a comparable case over decades. Some expressed serious concern over retaliation www.economist.com/britain/2025...
November 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
#POLI3097 Very Relevant to this week's discussions on Intelligence Liaison
##POLI1017 Relevant to our discussions about the role of NGOs, institutions, and norms
assigning this in my IR class today on NGOs, and it argues some of the apparent importance of NGOs was an artifact of the 90s. I wonder how much of IR--namely its liberal & constructivist variants--is the same
www.foreignaffairs.com/world/end-ag...
www.foreignaffairs.com/world/end-ag...
The End of the Age of NGOs?
How civil society lost its post–Cold War power.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:32 PM
##POLI1017 Relevant to our discussions about the role of NGOs, institutions, and norms
European responses to the Russia-Ukraine war - the whole special issue is now available here:
journals.sagepub.com/toc/BPI/curr...
journals.sagepub.com/toc/BPI/curr...
October 31, 2025 at 9:25 AM
#POLI1017 Relevant for our future discussions on gender and the Syrian Civil War
Full article: Rhetoric or Reality? An Analysis of the PYD as a Gendered Insurgent Organization from 2011 to 2018
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
@alexphelan.bsky.social
Christina Schmid
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
@alexphelan.bsky.social
Christina Schmid
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Rhetoric or Reality? An Analysis of the PYD as a Gendered Insurgent Organization from 2011 to 2018
Using the framework of “gendered organizations,” this article argues that the PYD strategically constructed its gender relations in its propaganda campaign and governance strategy through four diff...
www.tandfonline.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
#POLI1017 Relevant for our future discussions on gender and the Syrian Civil War
#POLI1017 For an update on events in Syria since the fall of Assad and the nature of recent clashes - relevant to some of the discussions we had this week.
I spoke to @hanrahan.tv @popularfront.co about a range of 2025 Syria topics including recent al-Sheikh Maqsoud clashes, DAANES curriculum controversy, July al-Suwayda' events...
open.spotify.com/episode/7j7m...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
pocketcasts.com/podcast/popu...
open.spotify.com/episode/7j7m...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
pocketcasts.com/podcast/popu...
Regional Conflict Threatens the Future of Jolani's Syria
open.spotify.com
October 22, 2025 at 6:16 AM
#POLI1017 For an update on events in Syria since the fall of Assad and the nature of recent clashes - relevant to some of the discussions we had this week.
#POLI3097 Some of the witness statements from the investigation into Chinese intelligence activities in the UK
It’s striking what a professional job Matt Collins did in these witness statements. The first describes in forensic detail the threat from Chinese intelligence operations and how this was ‘prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state’. 1/2 www.gov.uk/government/p...
Witness statements in relation to alleged breach of Official Secrets Act on behalf of China
As the Prime Minister said in the House, he has carefully considered this matter and, following legal advice, the Prime Minister decided to disclose the witness statements in full.
www.gov.uk
October 16, 2025 at 9:49 AM
#POLI3097 Some of the witness statements from the investigation into Chinese intelligence activities in the UK
#POLI3097 A deep dive on continued sectarian division in Syria and it's impacts, particularly on the Alawite community
@natachadanon.bsky.social on cycle of displacement and sectarian reprisal in rural Hama: newlinesmag.com/spotlight/st...
Stalled Reconciliation Leaves Hama’s Alawites in Limbo
As Syria’s sectarian wounds reopen in the wake of Assad’s fall, displaced families find themselves unable to return
newlinesmag.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:08 AM
#POLI3097 A deep dive on continued sectarian division in Syria and it's impacts, particularly on the Alawite community
#POLI3097 Nested threads about the complicated history of secret intelligence in Finland which touches on the blurred boundaries between state and private intelligence and the intricate relationships between domestic and international politics.
Finnish #intelligence #history keeps having wild plot twists.
A retired Finnish spy-catcher with probably a world record in catching Soviet “illegals” (“at least” 25) got the largest lottery jackpot in Europe - and used the millions to do and help counterintelligence.
www.hs.fi/tutkiva/art-...
A retired Finnish spy-catcher with probably a world record in catching Soviet “illegals” (“at least” 25) got the largest lottery jackpot in Europe - and used the millions to do and help counterintelligence.
www.hs.fi/tutkiva/art-...
October 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
#POLI3097 Nested threads about the complicated history of secret intelligence in Finland which touches on the blurred boundaries between state and private intelligence and the intricate relationships between domestic and international politics.
#POLI1017 A summary of an analysis of Russia's issues with military mobilisation from a Russian perspective. Highlights importance of gender relations and blurred boundaries between international politics and 'politics in the home'.
1/ The question of why Russians aren't flocking to fight in the war in Ukraine is continuing to exercise Russian warbloggers. 'LIVE Z' highlights the devastating effect that indefinite military service is having on family life, which he says is a "defining issue". ⬇️
October 11, 2025 at 10:35 AM
#POLI1017 A summary of an analysis of Russia's issues with military mobilisation from a Russian perspective. Highlights importance of gender relations and blurred boundaries between international politics and 'politics in the home'.
“The geographies of the information research department”
Enjoyed this “critical geographical analysis” of British covert operations
And there’s me thinking that geography was just oxbow lakes and erosion!
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Enjoyed this “critical geographical analysis” of British covert operations
And there’s me thinking that geography was just oxbow lakes and erosion!
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library
This paper develops a historical and political geographical analysis of the UK Foreign Office's Information Research Department (IRD). To date, there has been no geographical study of IRD and through...
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Hugely important for Ukraine. Back in April/May when territorial losses were low but running higher than '24 @michaelkofman.bsky.social said he'd be watching to see if they accelerated as they did last year.
Well, they've decelerated.
This year has been a disaster for Russia we should say so.
Well, they've decelerated.
This year has been a disaster for Russia we should say so.
Russian advance rates in September dropped to their lowest since May, DeepState reports. Russian forces managed to gain only 259 sq km of Ukrainian territory, 44% less than in August.
October 3, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Harry Swinhoe
So pleased to see the introduction to our special issue on #vernacularsecurity published in Security Dialogue! Coauthored with @michaellister.bsky.social & Akin Oyawale, the issue pushes vernacular security research into exciting new directions. Free to read here journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
September 14, 2025 at 11:09 PM
So pleased to see the introduction to our special issue on #vernacularsecurity published in Security Dialogue! Coauthored with @michaellister.bsky.social & Akin Oyawale, the issue pushes vernacular security research into exciting new directions. Free to read here journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Harry Swinhoe
🔊LISTEN to our podcast episode launching the ASPIRE network, talking on things #SoTL and our launch on June 9th. @jeremymoulton.bsky.social @jillianterry.bsky.social @sudhirselvaraj.bsky.social @mlebourdon.bsky.social
🔊NEW podcast episode: We speak to @aspirenetwork.bsky.social founding members about all things #SoTL & their launch event on June 9th at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. Available on all platforms. rss.com/podcasts/pol...
ASPIRE Network Launch | Podcast Episode on RSS.com
Episode: Welcome to a very special episode of Politics and Pedagogy where we are launching the The Academic Scholarship in Politics and International Relations Education Network or ASPIRE Network. ASP...
rss.com
April 29, 2025 at 7:35 AM
🔊LISTEN to our podcast episode launching the ASPIRE network, talking on things #SoTL and our launch on June 9th. @jeremymoulton.bsky.social @jillianterry.bsky.social @sudhirselvaraj.bsky.social @mlebourdon.bsky.social
#POL41910 #POL42060 Highly relevant for our discussions this week on peace processes and post-conflict violence
Which cities become arenas for violent contestation after war? Me and @rokon-uddin.bsky.social study this question in a newly published article in @intlinteractions.bsky.social. A key takeaway: Postwar urban violence is not just a continuation of war. doi.org/10.1080/0305... (1/5)
Unpacking Urban (Dis)Continuities of Postwar Violence
Which cities become arenas for violent contestation after war? A growing literature has documented how conflict-related violence often continues after the formal end of armed conflict, and also tha...
doi.org
April 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
#POL42060 On gendered inseecurity/it's in the context of natural disasters
Women are not biologically more susceptible to death from natural disasters, yet time and again, these catastrophes claim more female lives than male. My latest for @wpr.bsky.social explores why. www.worldpoliticsreview.com/gender-inequ...
Gender Inequality Makes Natural Disasters Deadlier for Women
Gender norms affect the preparation for natural disasters and their impact. Relief efforts must take that into account.
www.worldpoliticsreview.com
April 11, 2025 at 1:20 PM
#POL42060 On gendered inseecurity/it's in the context of natural disasters
#POL41910 Relevant to our first week's discussion on how we understand 'politics'
This book was a lightning rod for me when I first read this as a student many years ago. Still important, possibly more relevant than ever (sadly).
‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50 theconversation.com/a-dark-maste...
‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50 theconversation.com/a-dark-maste...
‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50
One of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century, Discipline and Punish is unsettlingly prescient in our age of digital surveillance.
theconversation.com
February 6, 2025 at 6:06 PM
#POL41910 Relevant to our first week's discussion on how we understand 'politics'
#POL41910 #POL42060 Relevant to discussions on the securitisation of non-traditional security threats and the limits of what we might categorise as 'Political Violence'
Canada has agreed to list Mexican drug trafficking organizations as terrorists as part of our agreement to get the US to back off on the tariffs.
newsletter.insightthreatintel.com/p/consequenc...
newsletter.insightthreatintel.com/p/consequenc...
Consequences of terrorist listings in Canada
What this means for the Taliban AND ideologically-motivated violent extremists
newsletter.insightthreatintel.com
February 6, 2025 at 6:02 PM
#POL42060 Relevant to last week's discussion on ontological security and its implications for Security Studies
What exactly is ontological (in)security? And what is ontological security's ethical, reparative, and transformative potential? In my new article in
@internatltheory.bsky.social, I suggest drawing on Melanie Klein rather than Giddens to conceptualise these questions
doi.org/10.1017/S175...
🧵👇
@internatltheory.bsky.social, I suggest drawing on Melanie Klein rather than Giddens to conceptualise these questions
doi.org/10.1017/S175...
🧵👇
The positions of ontological (in)security in international relations: object relations, unconscious phantasies, and anxiety management | International Theory | Cambridge Core
The positions of ontological (in)security in international relations: object relations, unconscious phantasies, and anxiety management
doi.org
February 6, 2025 at 5:56 PM
#POL42060 Relevant to last week's discussion on ontological security and its implications for Security Studies
#POL42060 Relevant to our future discussions on climate and security
Check out Professor Richard Beardsworth's latest blog examining the next steps in climate leadership after COP29:
www.openaccessgovernment.org/article/what...
www.openaccessgovernment.org/article/what...
What now? Climate leadership after COP29
Richard Beardsworth from POLIS at the University of Leeds continues a discussion on climate leadership, this time focusing on post-COP29 outcomes
www.openaccessgovernment.org
February 6, 2025 at 5:53 PM
#POL42060 Relevant to our future discussions on climate and security
#POL42060 Relevant to our discussions both on the securitisation of migration and what it means to be 'a state'
🎓 new article by John Clarke on "Performing like a state? State-ness, sovereignty and the ‘illegal’ immigrant"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Performing like a state? State-ness, sovereignty and the ‘illegal’ immigrant
This article explores some conceptual challenges at stake in studying the state. It builds on the ways in which scholars have contested ideas of states as unitary or coherent entities in order to t...
www.tandfonline.com
February 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
#POL42060 Relevant to our discussions both on the securitisation of migration and what it means to be 'a state'
excited to share a new article with Ron Krebs, David Blagden, Thierry Balzacq, and Shaul Shenhav "Do Soldiers Get a Say? Soldiers’ Views and Public Support for Military Operations in Four Democracies" #civmilsky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Do Soldiers Get a Say? Soldiers’ Views and Public Support for Military Operations in Four Democracies | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
Do Soldiers Get a Say? Soldiers’ Views and Public Support for Military Operations in Four Democracies
www.cambridge.org
February 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM