Communicating Research To Policy Makers / Modern Mercenaries: Private Military Contractors

Summary: This week, we begin by talking to John Tesh, who came into the department on Monday 19th October. John Tesh CBE, former deputy director and head of the capabilities team in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the UK Cabinet Office spoke on communicating research in a way that can enhance policy impact. His areas of expertise are national risk assessment and resilience strategy, subjects on which he led as a senior civil servant in the Cabinet Office from 2006 to 2012, and on which he continues to consult as well to the OECD High Level Risk Forum. Later on, we speak to Sean McFate, who came into the department to discuss his new book, ‘The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order’Sean McFate is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington DC. He is also an associate professor at the National Defense University and teaches national security strategy at Georgetown University. Previously, he was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and then a private military contractor in Africa. Jayne Peake provides details of next week's events, and also the recent collaboration with IWM who we are hosting a series of workshops with in the coming weeks. Presented by Bradley Murray and Xenia Zubova. DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.