BURA Collection:http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/86012024-03-19T08:42:16Z2024-03-19T08:42:16ZHow to Stage a Coup: and ten other lessons from the world of secret statecraftLomas, Dhttp://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/285142024-03-13T03:00:47Z2022-07-07T00:00:00ZTitle: How to Stage a Coup: and ten other lessons from the world of secret statecraft
Authors: Lomas, D
Description: Book review2022-07-07T00:00:00Z‘Rattan is Sick’Schreer, Vhttp://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/285082024-03-12T03:00:45Z2023-12-28T00:00:00ZTitle: ‘Rattan is Sick’
Authors: Schreer, V
Editors: Cairns, M
Abstract: ‘These days, rattan is sick’, Bapa Edwin** declared, as we sat on the remnants of a fallen tree in his rattan garden in April 2013. Bapa Edwin’s garden was a legacy from his ancestors, handed down by his great-grandfather to him and his siblings. We had taken a break from harvesting rattan (locally called manetes) to take a sip of coffee and have some biscuits. Bapa Edwin smoked. The cigarette smoke and the smouldering of a small fire protected us from the mosquitos attracted by the sweat of our bodies. It was 10 o’clock in the morning and the heat had started to build up, adding to the travails involved in working rattan. Harvesting the canes, said Bapa Edwin, was uyuh – in his language, tedious, painful and exhausting. My back was hurting. My arms were tired from holding the machete and pulling the canes. Feeling small pieces of spiny leaves in my hair and inspecting the scratches on my hands despite the gloves I had worn, I had to agree.
Description: ** All names used in this chapter, including those of villages and people, are pseudonyms.2023-12-28T00:00:00ZIntelligence warning in the Ukraine war, Autumn 2021 – Summer 2022Gustafson, KLomas, DWagner, Shttp://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/285062024-03-12T03:00:46Z2024-03-10T00:00:00ZTitle: Intelligence warning in the Ukraine war, Autumn 2021 – Summer 2022
Authors: Gustafson, K; Lomas, D; Wagner, S
Abstract: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is a unique case study of the use of warning intelligence. The article shows that whilst Russia’s invasion has sparked a wave of interest on aspects of intelligence, including the use of open source and ‘prebuttal’, the fundamentals of warning intelligence – the forewarning of major threats in a timely manner so policymakers and officials can respond – remain the same as they have always have. The article also suggests that whilst both sides of the conflict had intelligence advantages at the start, intelligence only becomes a significant force multiplier if the consumer sees value in it and uses it. For Russia, significant intelligence advantages were not fully exploited with the effect that they lost the initiative. Ukraine, whilst initially taken by surprise at the tactical and operational level, was able to use intelligence to its advantage. This, we argue, had long lasting implications for the course of the first period of the conflict. Footnote 1.
Description: Footnote 1. The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Professor Philip Davies and Dr Neveen Abdalla, who co-authored our original pieces in War on the Rocks, from which this article is developed.2024-03-10T00:00:00ZOutline of a Critical Sociology of Free Speech in Everyday Life: Beyond Liberal ApproachesRoberts, JMhttp://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/285032024-03-10T03:00:42Z2024-02-28T00:00:00ZTitle: Outline of a Critical Sociology of Free Speech in Everyday Life: Beyond Liberal Approaches
Authors: Roberts, JM
Abstract: Critical sociologists have been conspicuous by their absence in theoretical debates about free speech in everyday life. The aim of this article is to address this missing gap in critical sociology by making some tentative suggestions about how such a theory might advance. Drawing mainly from the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu and Judith Butler, the article suggests that free speech occurs when coalitions come together in venues to discuss the possession and dispossession of certain resources; resources that coalitional members enjoy or are denied from enjoying in social fields. If a coalition engages in dialogue and other types of expression that pushes for an equal distribution of different resources so as to make lives more liveable, then the coalition will most likely also be constructing subversive ‘heretical discourse’. Furthermore, the coalition will also most likely be challenging dominant and hegemonic symbolic constructions of ‘linguistic competence’ in a social field. The article develops these points by analysing two prominent liberal schools of thought on free speech: the marketplace of ideas school and the deliberative school. The article argues that these liberal schools cannot satisfactorily account for power relations and complexity of identity formation in relation to free speech.2024-02-28T00:00:00Z