Research
Doctoral research, peer-reviewed work, and public commentary.
My research sits at the intersection of three concerns: the proliferation of emerging military capabilities, the strategic effects they produce in contemporary armed conflict, and the open-source methods now indispensable to studying both. The Russo-Ukrainian war and the unmanned systems used within it form the empirical core of much of this work.
The Strategic Impact of Emerging Military Technology. PhD dissertation, Department of War Studies, King's College London. Expected completion September 2027. Supervised by Dr Jack McDonald and Dr Hassan Elbahtimy.
The dissertation asks how emerging military technologies — unmanned systems chief among them — shape the strategic conduct of contemporary war. Drawing on open-source evidence from the war in Ukraine and other recent conflicts, it brings empirical rigour to debates that too often rely on speculation about the future of warfare.
This research is supported by the Scottish International Education Trust.
A complete and continuously updated list of my publications — including peer-reviewed articles, policy papers, and commentary — is maintained on Google Scholar.
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I.
Unmanned systems in contemporary war
The diffusion of unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime systems across state and non-state actors; their tactical employment and strategic consequences; and the commercial-military boundary that has reshaped both.
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II.
Emerging military technology & strategy
How new capabilities — from underwater drones to autonomous targeting — alter the strategic calculus of states, and the policy frameworks struggling to keep pace.
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III.
Open-source methods for the study of war
The methodological possibilities and pitfalls of using open-source evidence to study contemporary conflict, with attention to verification, sourcing, and the standards that scholarly use demands.