Professor Theo Farrell
Department of War Studies
Room K7.17.
King's College London
Strand
London WC2R 2LS
Email: theo.farrell@gmail.com
Office hours: By appointment only.
Professor Farrell is on ESRC/AHRC funded research leave from 21 September 2009 to 20 September 2012. Over this period, he continues to teach on the Department's non-residential programme, War in the Modern World.
Areas of interest
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Military operations and counter-insurgency
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Military innovation and transformation
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US and UK national security affairs
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Humanitarian intervention and peace operations
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International law and use of force
Biography
Theo Farrell BA MA (UCD) PhD (Bristol) joined the department in September 2005, and a year later was appointed Professor of War in the Modern World. He previously held a readership at the University of Exeter and lectureships at University College Dublin and the University of Bristol.
Professor Farrell is Vice Chair of the British International Studies Association. He is a former associate editor of Security Studies and Review of International Studies, and former Chair of the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association. He has held visiting fellowships at Stanford University and the John Hopkins University, and will hold a visiting fellowship at Georgetown University in 2011.
Professor Farrell is an advisor to government on operations in Afghanistan. He has undertaken assessments on operations in Helmand for the British government (Oct-Nov 2009) and the British Army (April-May 2010). He was invited by the ISAF Commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, to join a strategic review of the campaign in January 2010, and in October 2010 undertook a theatre-wide assessment for the Commander of ISAF Joint Command, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez.
Professor is a member of the Economic and Social Research Council Grants Assessment Panel. He Farrell holds a three-year ESRC/AHRC Research Fellowship (2009-2012) funded under the UK Research Council’s “Global Uncertainties” Programme. He is currently writing a military history of the British campaign for Helmand.
Current research projects
Professor Farrell is working on two research projects. Both projects are funded by a three year ESRC/AHRC Fellowship (2009-2012) which Professor Farrell was awarded under the Research Council’s UK “Global Uncertainties” Programme. Please see below for details of each project.
Army transformation in Britain, France & the US
Professor Farrell is undertaking this project with Professor Sten Rynning (University of Southern Denmark) and Professor Terry Terriff (University of Calgary). This project examines how these three armies have transformed since the 1990s by moving from a forward deployed posture to an expeditionary warfare posture, by increasing the networking of forces, and by developing new doctrine for effects-based operations. The project also examines the impact of recent operations on how all three armies have adapted their force transformation programmes. The Army Transformation Project builds on an earlier comparative project, led by Professors Farrell and Terriff and funded under the ESRC’s “New Security Challenges” Programme, and which looked more broadly at military transformation in six European states.
The War for Helmand
The main themes in this project include: British military learning and adaptation on the ground; inter-agency cooperation and the evolution of the Comprehensive Approach; Anglo-Danish military cooperation; Taliban strategy and tactical agility; Afghan security forces and district development; the impact of the US military “surge” in Helmand; comparison of US and UK operational performance; Helmand in ISAF strategy; political understanding and popular support for the Afghanistan campaign. Professor Farrell provides academic support to the UK Ministry of Defence and the Stabilisation Unit, and in this role has visited Helmand, Kandahar and Kabul.
Doctoral supervision
Professor Farrell has a full supervision load and accordingly he regrets that he is unable take on any new doctoral research students in 2011-2012.
Current Supervision
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Michael Martin, ‘An Oral History of the Helmand Conflict.’
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Eduardo Peris Deprez, ‘The Civilian in Counterinsurgency.’
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Richard Bennet, ‘US Military Assistance and Local Security Forces.’
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Tim Stevens, ‘The Social Construction of Cybersecurity.’
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Olivier Schmitt, ‘Alliance Politics and Military Effectiveness.’
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Martin Bayly, ‘Social Dynamics and Conflict in Afghanistan.’
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Sara Fazlali, ‘Inter-organizational Collaboration and the Comprehensive Approach.’
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Kent DeBenedictis, ‘How Militaries Deal with Defeat.’
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Sean Lowrie, ‘Organizational Learning and Adaptation in the Humanitarian Sector.’
For a full list of publications and further details please
Download Prof Farrell's CV