Events – Project for the Study of the 21st Century

23 November – War in the 2020s – Navigating Modern War – now with podcast recording

October 26, 2021February 1, 2022Posted in Events, Geopolitics, London Events, Networking DrinksLeave a comment

Tuesday 23 November 18:30

The Project for Study of the 21st Century and King’s College London War Studies Society are delighted to welcome you to the second of a series of events on “war in the 2020s”, examining the changing face of conflict.
Twenty-first century wars so far have been dusty, lethal and sometime secretive affairs. From the inital Western intervenetion in Afghanistan twenty years ago, to today’s deployments across the Middle East and Africa, relatively small numbers of troops operate sometimes well outside the headlines.
How should Britain and its allies tackle this ever evolving world of conflict, as well as the growing great power rivalry that often sits across and through it? How should they commicate and when?
This event will be recorded as part of a podcast series.

Peter Apps (Moderator): Executive Director, PS21 and Global Affairs Commentator, Reuters

Lt Gen Sir Graeme Lamb: Former Director Special Forces and Commander Field Army

Abigail Watson: Conflict and Security Policy Coordinator, Safer World

Listen to the podcast of the event here

3 November – ‘The World of the 2020s’ with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry – now with podcast recording

October 18, 2021February 1, 2022Posted in Events, Geopolitics, London Events, Networking DrinksLeave a comment

Wednesday 3 November 18:30

PS21 and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry are delighted to invite you to the first of our exciting series of monthly discussions.

London and the world are reopening after almost two years of pandemic. But what does this new era look like?

The Project for Study of the 21st Century (PS21) and London Chamber of Commerce and Industry are joining forces for a monthly series of topical discussions examining the issues of the era.

Drinks will be served and there will be networking before and after.

Speakers:

Peter Apps (moderator): Executive Director PS21, Global Affairs Commentator Reuters

Richard Burge: Chief Executive at London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, former Chief Executive at Wilton Park, Chief Executive of of Countryside Alliance, Director General Zoological Society of London.

Christine Mikolajuk: Financial services professional and Board member at PS21.

Dr David Rubens: Executive Director of Institute of Strategic Risk Management, CEO of Deltar Group

Listen to the podcast of the event here

26 October – War in the 2020s – From Afghanistan to a High Tech Future – now with podcast recording

October 18, 2021February 1, 2022Posted in Events, Geopolitics, London Events, Networking DrinksLeave a comment

Tuesday 26 October 18:30

PS21 is delighted to welcome you to its first-in-person event since March 2020, linking up with King’s College London War Studies Society.

The West’s two-decade war in Afghanistan came to an ignominious end over the Summer – but with the US and its allies betting that the next conflict may be very different, with technology and information key to victory.

The Project for Study of the 21st Century and King’s College London War Studies Society which are delighted to welcome you to another in its series of events on “war in the 2020s”, examining the changing face of conflict.

Peter Apps (Moderator): Executive Director, PS21 and Global Affairs Commentator, Reuters

Brig Ben Barry (retired): Land Warfare Fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies

Victoria Mackarness: Director, CMS strategic, defense and security commentator.

Nelson Macmillan: former Royal Navy warfare officer, technology and strategy consultant.

Libby Vallance-Bull: Senior Account Director, Rebellion Defence.

Listen to the podcast of the event here.

2nd June – Recalibrating external missions to the Sahel: NOW WITH PODCAST RECORDING

May 22, 2021November 23, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Wednesday 2nd June, 6:30PM BST

PS21 is excited to be partnering with Saferworld and the War Pod to bring you a regional focus event on ‘Recalibrating external missions to the Sahel: Is no intervention better than these interventions?’

Following the second coup in Mali in less than a year, the assassination of Chadian President Déby and an attempted coup in Niger, the situation in the Sahel region of West Africa has never been more tense. European, U.S. and French forces are intervening alongside the regional Joint Force and UN Peacekeeping mission MINUSMA (which hosts British troops) to tackle the security challenges in the region and defeat armed groups, but Sahelian security forces, often trained by intervening missions, are complicit in violence against civilians and the political elites do not appear willing to address abuses.

Podcast recording here

Moderators

Abigail Watson – Conflict and Security Policy Coordinator at Saferworld.

Delina Goxho – independent security analyst and PhD candidate at Scuola Normale Superiore and Scuola Superiore San’Anna.

Speakers:

Ornella Moderan – head of Sahel Programme at the Institute for Security Studies in Bamako

Dr Nina Wilen – Africa Director at Egmont Institute in Brussels

Get your free ticket here.

GDPR notice: By signing up for this event, you are giving PS21 consent to share your details with the venue for security purposes. We will also add you to our events mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time. If you have any queries or would prefer not to be added, please contact ps21central@gmail.com.

Book Launch – Remote Warfare: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

May 13, 2021May 28, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Wednesday 26th May, 6:30PM BST

PS21 is delighted to be partnering with the WarPod to help launch: Remote Warfare: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Modern warfare is becoming increasingly defined by distance. Instead of deploying large numbers of boots on the ground, many Western and non-Western states have limited themselves to supporting the frontline fighting of local and regional actors.

To counter non-state armed groups like Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and Islamic State, states have engaged mostly through the provision of intelligence, training, equipment, airpower and small deployments of specific forces.

This is remote warfare, the dominant method of military engagement employed by states in the twenty-first-century.

This event brings together experts to discuss what the remote warfare approach means for contemporary conflict, what its risks are and its future is.

Contributions will be based on E-IR published book ‘Remote Warfare Interdisciplinary Perspectives’ – which can be accessed and purchased here: https://www.e-ir.info/publication/remote-warfare-interdisciplinary-perspectives/

Moderators:

Abigail Watson – Conflict and Security Policy Coordinator, Saferworld

Delina Goxho – Independent security analyst and PhD candidate at Scuola Normale Superiore and Scuola Superiore San’Anna.

Speakers:

Camilla Molyneux – Research consultant and Policy Advisor at the AllParty Parliamentary Group on Drones. Previous Human Rights Officer at the Norwegian Embassy to Saudi Arabia.

Jennifer Gibson – Human Rights Lawyer and Head of Assassinations Project at Reprieve.

Bara’a Shiban – Middle East and North Africa Caseworker at Reprieve. Political consultant to the Yemeni Embassy in London

Lauren Gould – Assistant Professor in Conflict Studies at the Centre for Conflict Studies at the History of International Relations section of Utrecht University. Co-founder and the project leader of The Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme.

Jolle Demmers – Professor in Conflict Studies, co-founder of the Centre for Conflict Studies and the Director of the History of International Relations section of Utrecht University. Co-founder of The Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme.

Get your free ticket here.

War in the 2020s – NOW WITH PODCAST RECORDING

May 8, 2021May 28, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Tuesday 25th May, 6:30PM BST

From vaccine nationalism, restlessness in the South China Sea, the effects of climate change and rising territorial disputes the 2020s look to be one of escalating tensions, join our panel as we discuss what conflicts will be the ones to define the coming decade?

Speakers:

Peter Apps (moderator) – Reuters global affairs commentator. Executive Director, PS21

Dr Ziya Meral – British and Turkish researcher. Senior Resident Fellow at the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Director of the Centre on Religion and Global Affairs.

Hayat Alvi – Ph.D. Associate Professor in National Security Affairs, US Naval War College

Charlotte Bratby – Army officer, Royal Signals. Outreach and engagement lead, Wavell Room

Missed the event?

Listen to the podcast recording of it here: https://anchor.fm/projects21

Where is 2021 going? NOW WITH PODCAST RECORDING

April 20, 2021May 8, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Tuesday 27th April, 6:30PM BST

It may be hard to believe for those who have barely made it to the pub yet once, but 2021 is almost a third over. From a new US administration to rising tensions with Russia and China, global vaccination and turmoil in the world of football, there is a lot yet to digest.

Join us for a free-flowing topical discussion as we discussed where the year is going, what it might bring next and what hope there might be that anyone in authority learns from it.

Speakers:

Peter Apps (moderator) – Reuters global affairs commentator. Executive Director, PS21

Victoria Mackarness – Account Director at CMS Strategic, Defence and current affairs commentator

Ana Bozovic – Geopolitics and financial specialist & founder of Analytics Miami

Joe Stockman – Former Strategic Communications Manager, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand

Sir Michael Leigh – Academic Director, European Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University, SAIS-Europe; Senior Fellow, Bruegel, Brussels. Former Director-General for Enlargement at the European Commission.

Missed the event?

Listen to the podcast recording of it here: https://anchor.fm/projects21

What next for Russia and Ukraine?

April 8, 2021April 14, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Tuesday 13th April, 7:00PM BST

With Russian troops massing on Ukraine’s border and international media speculating on another conflict in the Donbass, what might this summer bring? PS21 will be discussing that – and what it tells us about the geopolitics of 2021 and changing nature of international confrontation – in a virtual discussion with regional experts.

Speakers:

Peter Apps (Moderator) – Reuters global affairs commentator. Executive Director, PS21

Alex Kokcharov – Russia, Ukraine and Belarus country risk analyst, IHS

Beatrice Godefroy – Europe Director, Civilians in Conflict

Nikolas Gvosdev – Professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, editor of Orbis and senior fellow at FPRI and the Carnegie Council

Get your free ticket here.

Boots to Bots: From Cyber To The Grey Zone

February 22, 2021March 24, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Tuesday 23rd March, 10:00 – 17:00 GMT

We face a world where the unexpected happens overnight, technology is changing, enemies are unorthodox and virtual conversations have real-world impact. How can Western militaries adapt to a world where international players are manipulating cyberspace, using proxies to warp the information environment in ways that shape operations?

Join the Project for the Study of the 21st Century, the Wavell Room, and the British Army Cyber Association for a one day conference about the changing face of warfare. Sessions will include presentation and discussion of recent trends in cyber, high-tech, information and other forms of confrontation.

Boots to Bots – From Cyber to the Grey Zone

1000 – Introduction (Army Cyber Association/PS21)

1005 – Delivering in an Uncertain Age

Lt Gen Sir Graeme Lamb – Former UK Director Special Forces and Command the Field Army

Liisa Past – Former National Cyber Risk Officer, Estonia. Head of Cyber Security Development, Cybernetica

1050 – The Future in Practice – Operating in the Grey Zone Today

Dr Ivo Juurvee – International Centre for Defence and Security, Tallin, Estonia

Lt Col Chris Fogarty MBE– Commanding Officer 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare)

Lt Col Anthony Neylan – Army Information Directorate, Army Headquarters

James Athow-Frost – Major, Parachute Regiment. Founder, Wavell Room

Ruaridh Arrow – Former Harvard Fellow, BBC journalist and open source specialist. Army Reservist.

1130 – Break

1140 – Imagining war in 2030

Dr Christopher Ankersen – former Canadian Army officer, Clinical Professor, New York University

Harry Porteous – former British Army Officer, now working on AI and UAVs

Delina Goxho – Complete specialist focusing on remote warfare in the Sahel

1210 – Breakout Groups on “Hybrid and Cyber in 2030”

1245 – Lunch Break

1400 – International Approaches to Cyber and the Grey Zone

Kristen Hajduk – Former Operations Director, US Department of Defense National Security Innovation Network

Nigel Inkster – Former Deputy Chief, UK Secret Intelligence Service

Nina Jankowicz – Disinformation Fellow, Wilson Center, author of “How to Lose the Information War”

1455 – Break

1500 – GCHQ After 9/11: Lessons for Today

John Basset – Former senior GCHQ official

1510 – 10 Things I’ve Learned in Public Sector Cyber Security

Owen Pritchard – Cyber Lead, Local Government Association.

1520 – Breakout Groups on “What UK Defence Must Do to Adapt”

1545 – Beyond The Integrated Review

Abigail Watson – Conflict and Security Policy Coordinator, Saferworld

Nick Reynolds – Land Warfare Associate, Royal United Services Institute

Dr. Larry Lewis – Director of the Center for Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence at CNA

1630 – Ending

Don’t wait – claim your ticket now

Get your free ticket here.

GDPR notice: By signing up for this event, you are giving PS21 and the Wavell Room consent to add you to our events mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time. If you have any queries or would prefer not to be added, please contact ps21central@gmail.com.

The Geopolitics of the Post-COVID-19 and Biden era

February 10, 2021March 16, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Tuesday 23rd February, 7:00PM BST

As the world moves from the Trump era and pandemic to that of the Biden administration and the post-Covid reality, what will define its geopolitics? How have Russia and China take advantage of the crisis, and how are middle powers playing the new fast changing world. PS21 will be talking to several leading experts, asking what will characterise the next decade and where the risks might lie.

Speakers:

Ali Wyne (Moderator) – Senior analyst for Global Macro at Eurasia Group, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute

Nikolas Gvosdev – Professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, editor of Orbis and senior fellow at FPRI and the Carnegie Council

Maha Aziz – NYU Professor, World Economic Forum Global Future Council Risk Expert. Cartoonist & Author of upcoming book ‘A Global Spring: The Covid-19 Effect in the 2020s’

Champa Patel – Director, Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House. Previous Regional Director & Senior Research Advisor for South Asia and South East Asia and Pacific Offices for Amnesty International.

Get your free ticket here.

Climate Change & The Future of Defence

February 3, 2021February 21, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Thursday 18th February, 15:00 BST

Come to the Wavell Room’s and the Project for Study of the 21st Century keynote and panel on the future of British defence in the face of the most important issue of our time: climate change and sustainability.

Learn how the UK Defence world is thinking about and planning on tackling climate change, climate security, resilience, and more.

Ask questions of a panel with representatives from the Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force and Kings College London about how we will build a more sustainable force for the future.

Featuring

Lead Keynote Speaker

Lt Gen Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE, Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy Lead

and

A Panel With

RAdm Andrew Burns OBE, Director Develop (Royal Navy)

Maj Gen David Southall CBE, Director Army Basing and Infrastructure (British Army)

Gp Capt Maurice Dixon, DACOS ASTRA Sustainability (Royal Air Force)

Leslie-Ann Duvic-Paoli, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law at King’s College London

Chaired by

Thammy Evans (Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council)

with moderation by Charlotte Bratby (Engagement Lead for the Wavell Room)

Get your free ticket here.

GDPR notice: By signing up for this event, you are giving PS21 consent to add you to our events mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time. If you have any queries or would prefer not to be added, please contact ps21central@gmail.com.

The Arab Spring: 10 years on

January 27, 2021February 10, 2021Posted in Events, Politics, Society and Culture, UK Foreign Policy, US Foreign PolicyTagged International Relations, Society, UK politics, US politicsLeave a comment

Tuesday 9th February, 6:30PM BST

2011 saw the citizens of the Arab world mobilise to the streets to demand change from their regimes ruled by autocrats and riddled with corruption. It was a movement that ricochet from country to country throughout the region and gave hope to many that things were about to change.

10 years on, and what happened to the revolutionary movement? What were the implications and what of the sentiment remains?

Join our panel of experts as they reflect back and discuss the impacts of this revolutionary moment and what to expect from the region in future.

Panelists to include:

Ari Ratner (Moderator) – Founder and CEO of Inside Revolution. Former US State Department official

Hayat Alvi – Ph.D. Associate Professor in National Security Affairs, US Naval War College

Ruaridh Arrow – former BBC journalist, Harvard fellow, film-maker and author of ‘Gene Sharp: How to Start a Revolution’

Sulome Anderson – Freelance journalist and author of ‘The Hostage’s Daughter: A Story of Family, Madness, and the Middle East’. Based out of Beirut, Lebanon and New York City.

Get your free ticket here.