King's College London

In May-July, Diarmuid joined 35 other students at the Hudson Institute’s Political Studies Summer Fellowship. Places on the highly competitive programme are limited, with just 90 students selected for this year’s cohort and a 3% acceptance rate.

To secure his place Diarmuid submitted a sample essay from The Art of War module, exploring the relationship between ethics and conflict through Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars.

Diarmuid reflected on how studying War Studies and History at King’s had developed his understanding of the relationship between politics, security and decision-making, in his personal statement. He also highlighted his experience as Student Ambassador Lead for Events within the School, including support of the London Defence Conference and a NATO R&D conference delivered in partnership with William & Mary University in Bush House, as well as his involvement in wargaming at King’s. These experiences gave his application a maturity which strengthened his candidacy.

We spoke to Diarmuid about his experience.

What have you gained from your time at King’s that helped open the door to this opportunity?

My experience of supporting events and conferences at King’s, helped elevate my studies. Being involved in the content and discussion at events, even just listening in, allowed me to develop a more well-rounded understanding that supported me during my interview.

Some of the discussions I’d been exposed to at the NATO conference here at King’s, particularly around the US and China, prompted me to explore the role of international law further. Focusing on how future conflict could exist outside of the current international law frameworks, these debates and reading set me up for one of my interview questions asking ‘What gives a soldier the right to kill someone?’. Debates in class and at events had equipped me with the skills and experience to analyse this question confidently and articulate my response.

Before you went to Washington, what did you expect the experience to be like – and what surprised you once you got there?

In the weeks before, and especially on the flight over writing my first essay, I was nervous. As one of only two international students I felt like a bit of an imposter, who would arrive with a drastically different set of political ideas than the others. Pretty much as soon as I met my roommates that fear disappeared, as the people selected on the program represented a wide spectrum of ideas. The political diversity opened the door to some great discussions, promoting the idea to ‘disagree agreeably’.

Coming from a War Studies background I was also worried about how my knowledge of political theory would match up with the others on the course, some of whom, as I later found out, had read most of the set texts multiple times. While it was a more intense time than I expected, with 3 hours of seminars a day and seven policy workshops over the course of the 6 weeks, I actually felt my study to date at King’s had prepared me to absorb new concepts quickly and get the most out of the program.

 

You had the opportunity to meet people and visit organisations in Washington. Was there a particular conversation that stood out?

While the course focuses on political theory you explore the relationship between the three branches of American government. This of course cannot go without meeting some supreme court justices, as well as Judge Laura Cordero from the DC Superior Court. Judge Cordero’s story really stuck with me as she talked about her main motivations being to help people, having come from an immigrant family herself. Both her work in and out of court demonstrated this core thread in her life, seeing the impact she could have by interacting with disempowered individuals every day. Her responses to our questions highlighted the delicate and complex nature of justice and trying to balance the wants of victims and the contrition of perpetrators.

How did spending time with students and academics from different backgrounds and world views shape your experience?

It made me think a lot about Britain’s role in the world, particularly its relationship with America. While the idea of the special relationship for us frequently comes up in the news today, to many Americans this phrase represents the connection between the US and Israel. Without being on the course, I wouldn’t have realised the disconnect felt between the US and UK.

The policy workshops were a great way to explore this idea of international relationships. While the pre-reading gave you the background on the specific scenarios and theory, you were often thrown in the deep-end with these hour-long situations. Despite being one of the two non-Americans, I was given the role of an American representative to a NATO conference, tasked with highlighting the complex relationship America currently has with the alliance and its Allies. A unique opportunity to develop an empathy for American policymaking decisions, especially those which seem strange to us on the other side of the pond. 

What was the highlight of your fellowship experience in Washington DC?

The entire program was amazing, and the highlight of my summer. I suppose if I had to pick one thing though it would be the 4^th July weekend, which was our last weekend there.

Getting to be in DC for America’s 250^th Year made the weekend very memorable. From watching the world’s largest fireworks display with friends, after a 7-hour queue, to listening to President Trump speak, the whole day felt surreal. Combined with the military flyovers all day, It felt like a culmination of everything I’d been exploring during my time there about what it means to be American. There were hundreds of thousands of people from around the country gathering to celebrate their nation, despite different political and social ideologies.

 

Diarmuid continues his role in this his final year as Student Ambassador Lead for Events within the School of Security Studies.