Ankita Banerjee
Senior Editor
Ankita is a PhD scholar at the Indian Institute King’s College London. Funded by the Tagore Centre Studentship at King’s, her thesis focuses on the Santiniketan ashram of Rabindranath Tagore and critically analyses his educational philosophy as the expression of his political will. Currently, she teaches undergraduate students at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s. Her wider research interests span global intellectual history, South Asian politics, histories of nationalism, and conflict. Her MPhil and Masters in Political Studies were from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She graduated from St. Xavier’s College Kolkata where she was awarded a certificate of merit for standing first in semester I-VI examinations.
Martina Bernardini
Senior Editor
Martina is a PhD Candidate at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. She has been awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship “Interrogating Visions of a Post-Western World: Interdisciplinary and Interregional Perspectives on the Future in a Changing International Order”. Her research focuses on the history of U.S. foreign policy towards China, particularly on the role of China in U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s Grand Strategy for a post-Cold War World Order. She is an alumna of the School of Politics founded by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, and she holds a first-class honors Master’s degree in International Studies from Roma Tre University, where she also completed her BA in Political Science and International Relations. Throughout her studies, she won different grants to study and do research at the University of Montpellier, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Montréal, which awarded her with an additional scholarship of the Confucius Institute in Québec to complete a teaching-and-study experience in China.
Francesco Bruno
Senior Editor
Sam Erkiletian
Senior Editor
Sam Erkiletian is a PhD candidate at University College London’s Department of Political Science. His research focuses on the changing identities of combatants during conflicts and in postwar environments. In particular, he is interested in how the military socialization processes of armed groups affect the behavior and postwar identity of former combatants. Sam employs comparative case studies and utilizes primary sources from conflict archives in his research designs. He is also broadly interested in military history, particularly in the Second World War and Cold War conflicts. He holds an MSc in Security Studies from UCL and a BA in History and Ancient Studies from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Gareth Jonas
Senior Editor
Gareth Jonas is a part-time Masters of Research (MRes) student studying at the University of Exeter. He is currently in the process of finishing his postgraduate dissertation, which combines natural language processing and quantitative content analysis methods to investigate the securitisation of Islam and Muslims in British newspapers between 1988-2019. Previously, he studied History and Political Science at the University of Birmingham, completing a dissertation on the relationship between the securitisation of the Muslim Brotherhood and the intensification of neoliberal economics in Egypt since 2013.
Gareth’s main areas of interest centre around conflict and (in)security in both Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. His research interests primarily concern securitisation theory and social-psychological approaches to conflict; particularly the study of radicalisation and terrorism. He also occasionally forays into neorealist approaches to Grand Strategy.
Having previously worked and volunteered as a research assistant on a number of projects concerning ethnic conflict and UN intervention across the world, Gareth now interns as a regional security analyst at Le Beck International, a geopolitical risk advisory firm specialising in the MENA region. You can follow him on Twitter @jonas_gareth.
Natasia Kalajdziovski
Senior Editor
Natasia Kalajdziovski is a PhD candidate at Middlesex University, where she was awarded a fully-funded research studentship to complete her studies. She holds a first-class MA from the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, and an Honours BA from the Department of History at the University of Toronto. Broadly speaking, her research examines the role and conduct of intelligence practice in counterterrorism in the national security context, using historical case studies as the foundation of her research.
Outside of academia, Natasia frequently contributes to publications in the counterterrorism field, and she consults with various organisations as a subject-matter expert in her areas of research expertise. Most recently, her work can be found in the Georgetown Security Studies Review, the British Council’s “Extremism Research Forum” and the Berghof Foundation’s “Community Perspectives on Violent Extremism” project. She is also a junior research affiliate with the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS).
Li Lin
Senior Editor
Lin is a fully-funded doctoral researcher in the War Studies Department at King’s College London.
Her research interests include: Strategic Studies, Chinese Studies, and National Identity.
Li Lin did her BA in Law at School of International Studies, Peking University in Beijing; MA in Geopolitics, Territory and Security at Department of Geography, KCL; MA in History of Warfare, Department of War Studies, KCL.
She has previously worked as TA for School of International Studies and RA for the Institute of International and Strategic Studies of PKU, and in her gap year as Program Manager for Office of International Affairs. She is an Observer of PKU Youth Think Tank since 2018. Li Lin is also an international Chinese Zheng musician who has published concerto CDs and held a series of concerts internationally. She also writes as a columnist.
Sylvia Mishra
Senior Editor
Ms. Mishra is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Defence Studies, King’s College London (KCL) and her research focuses on nuclear strategy and nonproliferation, Southern Asian security and emerging and disruptive technologies. At KCL she serves as the Senior Editor for the Strife journal and is an ED&I Officer in the Women in War & International Politics Committee. She Chairs the CBRN Working Group for Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS); the Indian Women in International Relations (IWIR) at Global Policy Insights and is a N-Square Innovators Network Fellow, and a Mid-Career Cadre Scholar at CSIS. Sylvia was an India-US Fellow at New America, Accelerator Initiative Fellow at the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, a Scoville Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Visiting Fellow at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Carnegie New Leader and worked in New Delhi at the Observer Research Foundation on India-US defense and security ties.
She has been invited to present papers, deliver talks and participate in crisis simulation and Track II dialogues at various national and international forums like the Ford Foundation, Columbia University, Stanford University, Council on Foreign Relations, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the United States Strategic Command, Air Force Technical Applications Center Patrick Air Force Base (Florida), Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Asia Foundation, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory among others. Her publications include chapters in books, articles in journals, and commentaries/opinion pieces and she was featured in Women in Foreign Policy.
Mishra holds a B.A. in Political Science from Hindu College, University of Delhi; MSc in International Relations from London School of Economics and Political Science and M.A. in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
Timothy Moots
Senior Editor
Tim is a PhD candidate at the Department of War Studies, King’s College, London.
His research examines how the Royal Navy maintained access to overseas naval bases during the interwar period, in light of naval arms treaties, constitutional developments across the British Empire, and emerging threats from new naval powers.
Orion Noda
Senior Editor
Orion is a doctoral researcher currently at the Department of War Studies – King’s College London.
He joined the Department of War Studies in 2019, as part of the Joint PhD programme between King’s College London and the University of São Paulo, his home institution.
He holds an MA (Hons) in International Security from the University of Groningen and a BA in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, with a period at the Sorbonne University – Paris XIII.
His current doctoral research is on nuclear weapons and politics, particularly the symbolism behind nuclear weapons. He analyses the overarching relation between symbolism, identity, and behaviour within the nuclear arena, focusing on the history of US nuclear strategy post-Hiroshima. Consequentially, Orion’s areas of interest are nuclear security, non-proliferation, arms control, interdisciplinary approaches to International Relations (drawing from areas such as Anthropology and Psychology), as well as International Security in its broader sense.
His doctoral research is being funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and he is currently affiliated to the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) – King’s College London and the Centre for International Relations Research (NUPRI) – University of São Paulo.
You can follow him on Twitter @orionoda
Maia Otarashvilli
Senior Editor
Maia Otarashvili is a PhD candidate at the War Studies Department, King’s College London (KCL). Her research is focused on Black Sea/Caucasus region and the post-Soviet frozen conflicts in Georgia and Moldova. Maia is Deputy Director of Research and Deputy Director of the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) in Philadelphia. She is co-editor of FPRI’s 2017 volume Does Democracy Matter? The United States and Global Democracy Support and co-editor of Summer 2020 issue of Orbis, FPRI’s scholarly journal of global affairs. She holds an M.A. in Globalization, Development and Transition from the University of Westminster in London, with emphasis on post-authoritarian transitions. You can follow her on Twitter @MaiaVanRijn
John Pennell
Senior Editor
John is a doctoral researcher in the Defence Studies Department (DSD) within the School of Security Studies at King’s College London.
His PhD is focused upon Russia’s interventions in Ukraine and Syria within the context of debates centered upon the changing character of warfare. In addition to specific research interests in Ukraine, Russia, and other former Soviet states, his broader research interests include the role of non-kinetic and unconventional tools in conflict; the Middle East; and strategic thought.
John is also a Career Member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, currently serving in Tunis, Tunisia. His prior assignments have included Afghanistan, El Salvador, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
He has an M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University/National War College (Washington, D.C.), an MA in Political Science from American University (Washington, D.C.), and a BA in Politics from The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.).
You can follow him on Twitter @jpennell1970.
Daria Platonova
Senior Editor
Daria is a PhD student at King’s College London.
Her research focuses on violence and the unfolding of conflict across several regions in eastern Ukraine, 2013 – 2014. She leads seminars on International Relations theory at the War Studies Department and seminars on Russian federalism at Russia Institute. Prior to joining King’s, she worked as a teacher.
She graduated with a degree in History from the University of Cambridge in 2011. Her broader interests include European history, war studies, and interdisciplinary methods.
William Reynolds
Senior Editor
William Reynolds is a Leverhulme Scholar Doctoral Candidate with the Centre of Grand Strategy and Laughton Unit in the War Studies Department, Kings College London.
Graduating with a Bachelor’s in War Studies, and Masters in National Security Studies from the same department, William’s interests have evolved from military history to maritime security and grand strategy, particularly regarding Britain and the Indo-Pacific area. William’s research focuses on British and Japanese interactions in the grand strategic space post-1945.
Over the years, William has conducted work with the King’s Japan Programme regarding maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, with a particular focus on the maritime arena as a domain for interstate interactions. This has included United States Navy carrier and amphibious group deployments, Royal Navy deployments in the region from 1998 and, more recently, Chinese and Japanese Coast Guard procurement, history and interactions in the East China Sea.
Outside of University, he has worked as a research analyst for an IED threat mitigation company, with a focus on Europe and Syria. You can follow him on Twitter @war_student.
Shounak Set
Senior Editor
Shounak Set is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow at King’s College London, specialising in Foreign Policy Analysis and Strategic Studies; and his work focuses on Outer Space and Nuclear Proliferation, with reference to India. Primarily inclined towards understanding the global dynamics shaping the emerging era, his interests encompass issues of statecraft, warfare and diplomacy. In addition to academic publications, Shounak has authored policy papers (Carnegie Endowment, Royal United Service Institution and Observer Research Foundation) and contributed to media outlets (Business Standard, The Hindu: Business Line and The Diplomat). His research has received the support of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and the University Grants Commission in India, where he served as a university academic prior to joining KCL. He can be followed @shounakset.
Talia Shoval
Senior Editor
Talia Shoval is a PhD candidate in Politics (Political Theory) at the University of Edinburgh.
She received her BA in Political Science and Communication Studies, and her MA in Political Science, from Tel-Aviv University. Talia is an Alice Brown scholar, and an Associate and Fellow of the Centre for Ethics and Critical Thought (Critique) at Edinburgh University.
Her research interests include political theory, moral philosophy and applied ethics, with a particular emphasis on Just War Theory and environmental thought. Her research focuses on the interplay between environmental ethics and the ethics of war. She explores the duties we owe to the natural world in the context of war and armed conflict. More specifically, as part of her project, she scrutinises the notions of environmental immunity and environmental intervention for the protection of natural values and non-human interests.
You can follow her on Twitter @TaliaShoval.
Silvia Tieri
Senior Editor
Silvia Tieri is a political scientist and ethnographer in training based at King’s India Institute.
In 2019 she joined the King’s College London-National University of Singapore Joint PhD Programme.
Her doctoral research concerns the politics of linguistic identity in contemporary India and Pakistan.
Before joining KCL, she was a Research Analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), Singapore.
She holds a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Pisa (Italy) and a Master’s by Research in South Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore.
Matthew Wiger
Senior Editor
Matthew Wiger is an active duty United States Army Officer and a doctoral researcher in the School of Security Studies at King’s College, London. He has deployed to Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, and Central America and was formerly an assistant professor at the American University of Afghanistan. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from West Point, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and a Master of Public Administration with concentration in international security policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. His research interests include irregular warfare, surrogate warfare, and insurgency.
Constance Wilhelm
Senior Editor
Constance Wilhelm is an experienced researcher and Public and Humanitarian Policy consultant, specialising in conflict-affected areas and fragile states. She has worked with think tanks at Princeton University and New York University, with the Afghan Mission to the UN in New York, the OECD in Paris, humanitarian and international development organisations and consulting firms in Lebanon (leading teams in Syria), in Jordan (leading teams in Yemen), in Afghanistan, in Libya, as well as across both the Horn of Africa and the Sahel-Lake Chad region. She has conducted research and analysis work for the EU, the U.S. government, European and African governments, the World Bank, and UN agencies. Constance has an MA in Conflict Management and International Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA from McGill University.
As a doctoral researcher with the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, her research interests at King’s include the foreign women that have joined IS, and socio-legal approaches for their return.
Jaya Yadav
Senior Editor
Jaya Yadav is a PhD scholar at the University of Delhi, working on reimagining South Asia through an interdisciplinary lens focusing on literary representations of intersections of historiography, migration, and borders.
She received her BA from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in English Literature, before completing her Master’s and MPhil at the Department of English, University of Delhi. She has traveled extensively in the region, in order to chronicle oral histories of the Partition and the Liberation War of 1971, namely in Bangladesh, and was in Dhaka at the onset of the Rohingya crisis.
She works as an Assistant Professor, teaching English literature to undergraduate students and is currently engaged with the research project, ‘Covid Chronicles’ which aims to delineate trajectories of social, psychological, and economic changes in the city amongst students and other groups of people. She grew up in Turkmenistan, England and Nepal, before relocating to India for university and continues to connect with diaspora from Afghanistan and Nepal, who reside in Delhi.
Konstantinos Xipolitos
Senior Editor
Konstantinos is a doctoral student at the Department of History, Koç University, Istanbul. He received his BA in War and Security Studies from the University of Hull, before continuing his studies at SOAS with an MA in Turkish Studies. His primary interests include strategic studies and strategic history, Ottoman history, the First World War, and civil-military relations.
His main area of focus is the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 and its strategic history. He is currently working as a researcher on the Urban Occupations OETR Project conducted by Koç University and the Cambridge Group for the Study of Population and Social Structure, focusing on social and economic history.
He trained as a Sapper with the Hellenic Army where he served as a staff officer. He is currently a reserve officer with the Army Engineer Corps. You can follow him on Twitter @_Maneas_