Based in the Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War in the School of Security Studies, King’s College London, the new Conflict Records Unit will house historical war records. In particular, it specialises in evidence gathered from primary sources that are often contentious, difficult to access, and at risk of loss or destruction, from captured enemy records to re-constituted Cold War archives through to AI-moderated war crimes evidence.

The approach differentiates the unit in important ways. It takes a holistic view of conflict records, consistent with the Sir Michael Howard Centre’s mission to understand the history of war in all its complexity. The unit also develops and hosts special collections, makes use of them for research purposes, and studies their legal and ethical implications. It is a practical, applied orientation designed to enable research and inform policy.

Dr Mike Innes, Director of the Conflict Records Unit said:

Professor Mike Goodman, Head of the Department of War Studies added:

The unit is currently developing several large-scale projects and is hosting a speaker series featuring scholars and practitioners in the field of conflict records. The inaugural event ‘Investigating war crimes in Syria and Iraq vis-à-vis the Assad Regime and Da’esh’ with Dr William Wiley, founder and executive director of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, takes place on 24 February.

To get involved with the Unit please email cru@kcl.ac.uk. Follow us on Twitter @KCL_CRU and Subscribe to our mailing list.

Download the CRU Reference Series: General Bibliography