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Strife Blog’s 2018 Readers Survey – Results

September 12, 2018

An Afghan elder shows his purple inked finger to indicate that he voted during the Afghanistan elections of August 20, 2009 in Barg e Matal, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Allison.

 

We are glad to share the results of our first Readers Survey. The Survey ran between June 11 and July 16, 2018. The results below have already been very useful for us, as they allow us to understand who our readers are and if they are satisfied or not. We will use your suggestions to improve our Blog, especially regarding the website layout and the choice of future content. Thanks again for taking your time to share your opinion with us!

Question 1 – How old are you?

Our readership is mostly relatively young, with a great majority of respondents being between 18 and 34 years of old (78%). This is most likely due to our nature as a student-led blog.

 

Question 2 – How would you describe yourself?

Our audience shows a great diversity with regard to its current occupation. More than a third of our readers are students (36% either full-time or part-time), while more than a quarter are practitioners (28%) and exactly a quarter are university staff.

 

Question 3 – Where are you currently based?

Half of our readership is based in the United Kingdom, reflecting our strong links with the country where most of our members of the Board are currently based. The rest of our readership, however, is relatively diverse and reflects our global reach.

 

Question 4 – How did you hear about Strife?

Notwithstanding the power of social media, word of mouth seems to be our strongest ally regarding how we acquired our readership base. This probably reflects our roots as a student-led initiative inside King’s College, but it may also reveal something about the actual effectiveness of social media, even in our age. Regarding our online presence, Twitter seems to be the platform that contributed the most.

 

Question 5 – What is your purpose in visiting Strife?

Naturally, the most chosen answer reveals the interest in conflict on the part of our readers. However, the even share of the first three answers advises us to continue to deliver interesting pieces of academic research (like our Features) as well as policy-related posts.

 

Question 6 – What are your interests?

The most popular interest among our readers seems to be International history, chosen by 58,3% of our respondents. It is followed by Insurgency and counterinsurgency (47,2%), Intelligence and International impact of national politics (both 44%), and Terrorism and counterterrorism (38,9%). Among the Others reply, an enthusiast “All the above and more” stands out, along with more specific replies (e.g. “Asymmetric warfare”)

 

Question 7 – How often do you visit Strife Blog?

Our readers are quite evenly divided when it comes to frequency of visits. 31% of them visit us once a week or more; 39% visit us once or twice a month; and the remaining 30% is less regular.

 

Question 8 – Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the Strife blog website?

This question aimed at understanding our readers’ satisfaction with our website. Although a clear majority is satisfied or very satisfied (70%), a lack of satisfaction in the remaining 30% points out to the need for some improvements on the website. Some of you have kindly provided us with helpful advice on what to do in the next months.

 

Question 9 – Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the articles published by Strife blog?

Satisfaction towards our content is even more common than that towards our website. 81% of our readers are either satisfied or very satisfied with our articles. This, however, does not mean that we will not improve where possible to satisfy at least part of the remaining 19%.

 

Question 10 – Are you satisfied with the current length of articles on Strife?

On this particular question, our readers expressed satisfaction towards our current article length (1000-1500 words for a standard piece, 2000-2500 for a Feature). Some degree of support towards longer articles encourages us to continue providing you with our Features for the foreseeable future.

Thanks again for your help! The 2019 Readers Survey will come out around May next year.

Positions open with Strife Editorial Board – Apply now!

10 September 2018

Strife is a dual-format publication founded in 2012 by PhD students and researchers from the War Studies Department of King’s College London. Comprised of an academic Blog and a peer-reviewed Journal, it is run by postgraduate students and doctoral researchers from the School of Security Studies.

From its debut in 2012, Strife has grown from 5,000 to 870.000 annual views, with over 2.1 million unique pageviews and an audience that spans all the inhabited continents. As shown in our recent Readers Survey (results to be published soon), included among our steady viewers are academics, practitioners, and students, along with research institutions, journalists, and citizens interested in knowing more about war and security.

Strife’s thematic focus is ‘conflict’, in all its shapes, forms, and senses. We combine political, historical, literary, and philosophical approaches to this phenomenon through blog and journal articles, as well as unique formats like photo essays, book, film, and art reviews. We aim to provide thought-provoking, unique perspectives on all aspects of conflict, from the cultural to the practically applied.

From September 17th, we will be looking for outstanding individuals willing to join the Editorial Team for the next academic year (October 2018 – September 2019).

For the first time, we are opening applications to candidates from external universities. As we are based in King’s College London, the majority of the members of the board will be currently registered for a program of study or engaged in research at King’s. However, we are looking forward to accepting a selected number of outstanding external applications, wherever they come from. The following job descriptions indicate which positions are restricted, for reasons of convenience, to students and PhD candidates based at King’s.

The positions available include:

 

  • Managing Editor – Blog (MA or PhD applicants)

The Managing Editor – Blog is responsible for the Blog’s overall maintenance and activity, aiming at providing a steady stream of content while ensuring a smooth editing and publication process. Along with the EiC, the Managing Editor – Journal, and the Communications Manager, (s)he is responsible for formulating, reviewing, and amending Strife policy as part of the Managing Board. This role is restricted to current King’s students.

 

  • Communications Manager (3rd year BA, MA, PhD applicants)

The Communications Manager will be responsible for maintaining and expanding Strife’s social media and web presence. Duties will include promoting new Blog entries, the latest Journal issue, and Strife events, as well as curating the monthly newsletter and expanding further Strife’s audience. Along with the EiC, the Managing Editor – Journal, and the Managing Editor – Blog, (s)he is responsible for formulating, reviewing, and amending Strife policy as part of the Managing Board, of which (s)he is secretary.

The Communications Manager will ideally be a Graduate-level student, though we may accept outstanding third year undergraduates for this role. This role is restricted to current King’s students.

 

  • Coordinating Editor – Journal (PhD applicants only)

The Coordinating Editor – Journal will work directly with the Managing Editor – Journal to prepare and deliver the publishing of Strife Journal’s winter and summer issues. He or she will take point in coordinating the editorial and proof-reading process of journal submissions, and will act as liaison between the authors, Senior Editors and the Managing Board of Strife.

 

  • Senior Editor – Journal & Blog (PhD applicants only, including )

The Senior Editors form the backbone of Strife’s operations, providing excellent editorial support for authors, as well as assisting in the smooth day-to-day running of Strife. Individuals will only be considered for the position of Senior Editor if they have reached the level of PhD studies or above. The SE designation serves to provide recognition of this level of service and dedication to Strife.

Senior Editors will also help in editing blog entries  and will be required to contribute with one blog post per term.

 

  • Series Editors – Blog (MA or PhD applicants)

Series Editors will be responsible for the publication of a singular subject-themed series of four articles to be featured on Strife Blog. This would also figure an introduction of no more than 500 words written by the Series Editor.

Notice that, at the moment of application, candidates to this position are not required to have a final, precise idea about the Series topic yet. Rather, candidates should aim at specifying the skills that they can bring to the Board.

Series Editors will also help in editing blog entries.

 

  • External Rep (MA or PhD applicants)

The External Rep is a student from an external university that takes charge of liaising between students in their home university and Strife. This will include encouraging new writers to contribute to Strife, as well as promoting Strife amongst the graduate population and expanding its audience and contributors base. There is only one External Rep for each external university represented on the Strife Editorial Board.

The External Rep will also assist in editing blog entries and will be required to contribute with one blog post per term. In case the Rep’s distance from London is considerable, the Rep is exempt from regularly attending Editorial Board meetings.

 

  • Editor – MA Representative (MA applicants)

The MA Rep takes charge of liaising between Masters-level students and Strife. This will include encouraging new writers to contribute to Strife, as well as promoting Strife amongst the graduate population, expanding its audience and contributors base.

The MA Rep will also assist in editing blog entries and will be required to contribute with one blog post per term. This role is restricted to current King’s students.

 

  • Editor – BA Representative (BA applicants)

The Editor – BA Rep will take charge of liaising between Strife and the undergraduate community at King’s. He or she will be responsible for filtering any undergraduate submissions in accordance with relevant Strife guidelines. The BA Rep will also promote Strife, encouraging new writers to contribute to Strife and expanding Strife’s audience.

The BA Rep will also assist in editing blog entries. This role is restricted to current King’s students.

Becoming part of Strife, a vibrant and influential publication, represents a unique opportunity, boosting your professional profile, putting you in direct contact with experts in the field, and helping accumulate valuable editorial and writing experience.

To apply please send your CV and a cover letter to editors@strifeblog.org. In the subject line please state ‘Editorial Board application’ and specify the position you are applying for.

Applications open on Monday, September 17th and close on Sunday, October 7th.

Additionally, we are continuously seeking new contributors. This is a great opportunity to be published as well as to have your work reviewed by experts in a friendly and constructive environment. Our contributors have persistently appreciated our feedback. Submission guidelines can be found on the Submissions page.

We look forward to getting you involved with Strife.

Positions open with Strife Editorial Board – Apply Now!

11 October 2017

Strife is a dual-format publication founded in 2012 by PhD students and researchers from the War Studies Department of King’s College London. Comprised of an academic Blog and a peer-reviewed Journal, it is run by postgraduate students and doctoral researchers from the School of Security Studies.

From its debut in 2012, Strife has grown from 5,000 annual views to over 1.5 million unique pageviews worldwide, with an audience that spans all the inhabited continents. Included among our steady viewers are academics and practitioners in diverse fields, research institutions, journalists and media conglomerates.

Strife’s thematic focus is ‘conflict’, in all shapes, forms and senses of the word. We combine political, historical, literary, and philosophical approaches to this phenomenon through blog and journal articles, as well as unique formats like photo essays, book, film, and art reviews. We aim to provide thought-provoking, unique perspectives on all aspects of conflict, from the cultural to the practically applied.

We are currently looking for outstanding individuals willing to join the Editorial Team. The positions currently available include:

 

Communications Manager (MA or PhD applicants)

The Communications Manager will be responsible for augmenting and expanding Strife’s social media and web presence. Duties will include promoting new Blog entries, the latest Journal issue, and Strife events, as well as expanding further Strife’s audience and recruiting new writers (postgraduate researchers, academics or relevant professionals).

 

Coordinating Editor – Journal (PhD applicants only)

The Coordinating Editor – Journal will work directly with the Managing Editor – Journal to prepare and deliver the publishing of Strife Journal’s winter and summer issues. He or she will take point in coordinating the editorial and proof-reading process of journal submissions, and will act as liaison between the authors, Senior Editors and the Managing Board of Strife.

 

Senior Editor – Journal & Blog (PhD applicants only)

The Senior Editors form the backbone of Strife’s operations, providing excellent editorial support for authors, as well as assisting in the smooth day-to-day running of Strife. Individuals will only be considered for the position of Senior Editor if they have reached the level of PhD studies or above. The SE designation serves to provide recognition of this level of service and dedication to Strife.

 

Series Editors – Blog (MA or PhD applicants)

Series Editors will be responsible for the publication of a singular subject-themed series of four articles to be featured on Strife Blog. This would also figure an introduction of no more than 500 words written by the Series Editor.

Series Editors will also help in editing blog entries.

 

Editor – MA Representative (MA applicants)

The MA Rep takes charge of liaising between Masters-level students and Strife. This will include encouraging new writers to contribute to Strife, as well as promoting Strife amongst the graduate population, expanding its audience and contributors base.

The MA Rep will also assist in editing blog entries.

 

Editor – BA Representative (BA applicants)

The Editor – BA Rep will take charge of liaising between Strife and the UG community at King’s. He or she will be responsible for filtering any UG submissions in accordance with relevant Strife guidelines. The BA Rep will also promote Strife, encouraging new writers to contribute to Strife, and expand Strife’s audience.

The BA Rep will also assist in editing blog entries.

 

Becoming part of Strife, a vibrant and influential publication, represents a unique opportunity, boosting your professional profile, putting you in direct contact with experts in the field, and helping accumulate valuable editorial and writing experience.

 

To apply please send your CV and a cover letter to editors@strifeblog.org. In the subject line please state ‘Editorial Board application’ and specify the position you are applying for.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, October 25th.

Priority will be given to applicants currently registered for a program of study or engaged in research at King’s College London.

 

Additionally, we are continuously seeking new contributors. This is a great opportunity to be published as well as to have your work reviewed by experts in a friendly and constructive environment. Submission guidelines can be found on the Submissions page.

 

We look forward to getting you involved at Strife.

Crossing Borders: Technology and Migration in an Interconnected World – Conference Tickets on Sale

By: Johan Lammers

In times of travel bans and Brexit, as a foreign student from The Netherlands where the polls are led by a party whose official stance on immigration is literally ‘zero asylum seekers extra and no more immigrants from Islamic countries; border closed’, migration is never far from my thoughts and conversations. In this blogpost, I would like to give an idea of why migration is worthy of our growing concern in the interconnected, digitalized ‘Age of Information’. In doing so, I also set the scene for the upcoming annual Conflict, Security and Development Conference happening on the 3rd of March 2017 on this issue with the title ‘Crossing Borders: Technology and Migration in an Interconnected World’.

The UN documents over 243 million migrants around the world, or 3.3% of world population. Between 2014-2016, EuroStat recorded over 3 million first-time asylum requests to the EU; in the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Lebanon, refugees make up 43%, 36% and 27% of the population. While the concept of a smartphone did not exist at the end of the Cold War, 37% of the world population is expected to own one in 2020; a 2015 survey found that close to 86% of the Syrian youth in a refugee camp in Jordan did. Unsurprisingly, both strongly upward trends have an influence on each other. Migrant and host communities are increasingly interconnected through constant and abundant live information. This increasingly blurs the lines that divide consumers and producers of generated news and public opinion about ongoing conflicts. The emergence of physical and virtual information and communication networks have an endogenous reinforcing effect and facilitate an unprecedented flow of people and ideas.

However, these flows are far from uncontrollable as numerous stakeholders with varying if not directly opposing interests seek to manage, coordinate or exploit this modern phenomenon of (forced) migration in an interconnected world. Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees seeks to manage global databases in camps based on biometric registrations, border police are using drones for monitoring. Separated families can remain in touch or even reunite across vast distances. Expectation management for aspiring migrants, educational information and preparing for integration greatly benefit from a wealth of online data, programs and apps. Meanwhile, migrants risk entire livelihoods based on the best practices, rumours and accounts of strangers via Facebook groups.

In addition to these parallel mechanisms that make up the interaction between technology and migration, single mechanisms do not have a uniformly beneficial or harmful effect. Does technology hamper the capacity of human traffickers through increased transparency in their practices, or does it provide them with unchecked informal advertising platforms and viral mouth-to-mouth networks? How does the constant feed of real-time available media material influence both mutual perceptions of migrant and host communities and the political climates that result for their political representatives?

Hence, a proper understanding of migration and technology cannot come from merely a single perspective but requires multiple lenses. Yet neither is it merely a ‘problem’ that should be ‘solved’, without also discussing the opportunities to be seized.

During the Conflict, Security and Development Conference on the 3rd of March 2017, we will address several of these issues by bringing together academics, NGOs, policymakers, journalists, entrepreneurs and migrants for discussion. Through this forum, we seek to compare and contrast how these combined perspectives provide an idea of what the current challenges and opportunities are, and how these integrated trends are likely to develop in the years to come.

In our first panel, we bring together migrants-turned-activists and entrepreneurs to identify how modern technologies have a personal impact on a migrant’s experiences, but also how businesses emerge to employ migrants and cater towards particular needs of these emerging target audiences. Our second panel discusses how NGOs and other migration managers seek to employ technologies to coordinate these flows of peoples. Our third panel considers what policy implications modern, digitalized migrants might have, and how technologies can be instrumentalized towards advancing these aims.

More information on how to buy tickets, our speakers’ profiles, and the schedule for the day can be found on our website. Payment: The conference welcomes all audiences, though students from the University of London can attend at a reduced fee.  

Notes:

Beheshti-Kashi, Samaneh, Makki, Baharak (2013), ‘Social Media News: Motivation, Purpose and Usage’, International Journal of Computer Science & Information Technology, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp.97-105

The author is pursuing his MA in Conflict, Security and Development at King’s College London. This piece was submitted by the 2017 Conflict, Security and Development Conference organisers as an advertisement for the annual student-led CSD Conference. You can buy tickets here.

Image source: http://www.wnyc.org/story/a-harrowing-journey-into-europe-aided-by-apps-and-internet-access/

Strife Feature, Abstract: A Beginners Guide to the Musical Scales of Cyberwar

By: Jessica “Zhanna” Malekos Smith

Musical scales of cyberwar: the graphic of a piano keyboard illustrates how the core principles of the law of war apply to cyberspace
Musical scales of cyberwar: the graphic of a piano keyboard illustrates how the core principles of the law of war apply to cyberspace

In Strife’s long-form feature piece for December, Jessica Malekos Smith writes about the beginner’s guide to the ‘musical scales’ of cyberwar. Using the analogy of a piano keyboard, her article aims to promote an understanding of what constitutes a use of force in cyberspace and how a state may lawfully respond. Understanding the legal confines of offensive and defensive cyber operations is a burgeoning area of study. In fact, in Harold Koh’s famous remarks at U.S. Cyber Command’s Inter-Agency Legal Conference in 2012, he posed the following question to the audience: “how do we apply old laws of war to new cyber-circumstances, staying faithful to enduring principles, while accounting for changing times and technologies?”[1]

To help achieve this, Jessica uses the concept of Middle C and musical intervals known as octaves to explain the range of permissible state conduct during times of conflict. By juxtaposing the law of war with a piano keyboard, Jessica illustrates the arcane legal precepts of how states evaluate the scale and effects of a cyber operation and determine a basis for using force under the Law of Armed Conflict. Music is a language that is universally understood, and the analogies used here will encourage society to learn about the law of war, and help collectively better strategize ways to mitigate conflict in the cyber domain.

Jessica “Zhanna” Malekos Smith is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Belfer Center’s Cyber Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her feature was published on 29th December 2016. 

Notes:

[1] Harold Hongju Koh, International Law in Cyberspace, Yale University Faculty Scholarship Series. Paper 4854 (2012), http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/4854.

Image credit: https://www.goodfreephotos.com/albums/vector-images/piano-keyboard-with-notes-vector-file.png

Feature image credit: https://www.goodfreephotos.com/albums/other-photos/hand-playing-keyboard-keys.jpg