Other News
BRITAIN'S MOST SECRET INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
A Knowledge Centre interview with Prof Richard Aldrich
Most people have heard of MI5 and MI6 from films such as the James Bond series, but what about Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ)? GCHQ is dubbed the most secretive of Britain's intelligence agencies, which makes Professor Richard Aldrich's 'uncensored' biography of the agency all the more fascinating. GCHQ: The Uncensored Story of Britain's Most Secret Intelligence Agency
explores the work of the agency, from code-breaking in World War II to modern surveillance of the billions of texts sent in Britain each year.
DIARIES OF WAR
A Knowledge Centre article by Prof Richard Aldrich
The stories of ordinary people in times of war can often get lost in official historical records about dates, numbers and hard facts. However, what can we discover by focusing on one name from a long list of casualties? Since 2002, Professor Richard Aldrich has been investigating war diaries in order to look at the lives of everyday people in wartime. This not only involves detailed research into many unread private accounts of war, but also raises the question of why people keep diaries, particularly during times of war.
Wyn Grant appointed Chair of new Warwick Commission subject
Wyn Grant has been appointed as Chair of a new Warwick Commission on the subject of Elected Mayors and City Leadership. Further information is available on the announcement about the new Commission is available here.
Wyn has already begun to publicise the work of the Commission and it looks like it will attract considerable attention in the academic and policy spheres. More information will be available as the Commission gathers pace.
PAIS extends its congratulations to Wyn for being selected for this role. It is another reflection of Wyn’s standing as a scholar and continued dynamism post-retirement. It is also a reflection of the quality of PAIS in the third commission to be headed up by a member of the Department.
GROWING A SECURE FOOD FUTURE
A Knowledge Centre talk by PAIS alumnus Tim Gore, International Policy Adviser on Climate Change for Oxfam UK
It’s ten years since Tim Gore was a fresher at Warwick studying International Politics. Now he's putting the theory he learned into practice. Speaking ahead of today's launch of the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Durban, Gore told the Warwick International Development Summit about GROW, Oxfam’s latest campaign to highlight an impending world food crisis.
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY PROMOTION AND THE ARAB SPRING
A Knowledge Centre article based on extracts from a GR:EEN Project paper by Dr Oz Hassan
Is America too focused on economics when it comes to understanding the many definitions of freedom that have emerged from Egypt? Warwick research fellow Dr Oz Hassan argues that there is a lack of innovation in US Middle East policy and that the Obama administration would do better to support Egypt's positive emerging trends rather than try to impose its own.