- Wednesday 15 March 2023
- Time
- 5:30pm - 7:00pm
- Location
- Online event
- Interval
- Every other Wednesday
- Until
- Wednesday 10 May 2023
- Cost
- Free
A Zoom webinar series run by the University of Leeds, University of Birmingham and St Andrews.
Since the end of the Cold War, many Europeans began to believe that war between states was a thing of the past. Even eminent military historian John Keegan said in 1993: “You can forget about big wars.”
The time of war as a normal political tool seemed to be over, even more so because war had already become morally unacceptable since the end of the Second World War. Optimism dominated the interpretation of international politics: the time of war, at least of big wars in Europe, seemed to be over.
‘Zeitenwende’ and an uncertain future
The war in Ukraine seems to fundamentally challenge this view. German politicians speak about a fundamental historical turn (“Zeitenwende”). A number of questions arise which are of interest for all of us, and may change our perception of an uncertain future. Is a new era coming, is our belligerent past coming back? Are we indeed at a historical turning point, and if so, how does the future of war look? Was the optimistic belief that war was a phenomenon of the past a short-sighted and Eurocentric view, which worked only because it did not look at the rest of the world and excluded even the ongoing violence on the fringes of Europe itself?
Our webinar series wants to take stock and to hear what international experts have to say about war in our time.
We will focus mainly, but not exclusively, on events in Ukraine. We will discuss the experience of war on the battlefields of today and those of the future, and how modern societies cope with the fundamental challenges of war. We will also offer historical reflections and insights.
The webinars will be held on Wednesdays during term time, fortnightly, from 5.30pm to 7pm on Zoom. We will circulate Zoom invitations for each meeting in good time. Some sessions will be available to view after the event – see individual sessions for details.
Webinar organisers are Professor Holger Afflerbach (University of Leeds), Dr. Marc De Vore (University of St. Andrews) and Dr Daniel Whittingham (University of Birmingham).
Topics and presenters, Autumn 2022 / Spring 2023
Upcoming webinars
Please note that the event on the 8 March 2023 (End of Empire, Russian imperialism and the War in Ukraine – Professor Dominic Lieven (Cambridge)) has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
15 March 2023 – Round table 2: Comparing wars past and present: Parallels and differences
Professor Alexander Watson, Goldsmith (WWI), Prof. Markus Poehlmann, Potsdam (WWII) and Dr. Dan Whittingham, Birmingham (wars after 1945). Moderator: Holger Afflerbach
Join the ‘Round table 2’ event on Zoom – Meeting ID: 820 4078 1495 – Passcode: 4Vwz$a
10 May 2023 (17:30 – 19:00) – A global and extra-European view on wars in our time
Professor Neta Crawford (Oxford)
Join the event “A global and extra-European view on wars in our time” on Zoom – Meeting ID: 853 6950 9080 – Passcode: P@1=Mm
Past webinars
1 March 2023 – The historian’s and the economist’s view – the efficiency of economic warfare
Dr Jonathan Boff, (Birmingham)
1 February 2023 – How can we understand what is going on in Ukraine? A view on sources and intelligence
Colonel Markus Reisner, Militaerakademie Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
7 December 2022 – Ukraine and the Russian menace – POSTPONED
Andrij Zagordnyuk, former Defense Minister of Ukraine.
23 November 2022 – The Russian and Ukrainian Societies and the War in Ukraine
Dr. Sofya Anisimova and Dr. Taras Fedirko.
9 November 2022 – Historical Reflections (Round table 1): ‘Wars and the dangers of escalation’.
Holger Afflerbach, Hew Strachan, Marc De Vore, Annika Mombauer.
26 October 2022 – Lessons from Ukraine for the Wars and Battlefields of the Future
General Dr. Freuding, Chief of the Ukraine Center in the German MoD.
Watch a recording of Lessons from Ukraine on Zoom – Passcode: sCF@D4bu
12 October 2022 – The maritime dimension of the war in Ukraine
Dr. Deborah Sanders, Reader, King’s College.
28 September 2022 – Contemporary Conflicts: Lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine
General David Petraeus.