Webinar: Mobilising the crisis: Covid-19 and the UK military
June 2020
This webinar was recorded on 10 June 2020.
Leading critical military studies academics discuss the role and operation of the UK military in the COVID-19 crisis and, in the light of the #BlackLivesMatter protests, how militarism intersects with racism and public control at home and abroad.
Warrior Nation: Militarism, War & Resistance
November 2019
For the finale of our first podcast season, we spoke to political hip hop artist Lowkey about war, militarism, the current political climate, and our hopes and prospects for the future. The event was recorded in front of a live audience at Housmans Bookshop in London on 4 December and co-hosted with peace activist Maya Evans. The music in this podcast is from Hand On Your Gun by Lowkey.
Planning Remembrance Day events in your school
2018
This guidance is based on five-years of research carried out by Oxford Brookes University and Brunel University London. It looks at how school leaders can approach discussing ethical themes related to conflict.
Data on military visits and activities in schools
2019
The latest information available and some quick guidance on using this data.
The British armed forces: Why raising the recruitment age would benefit everyone
2019
A briefing (Child Soldiers International, 2019) making the case for setting 18 as the minimum age for recruitment.
Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK
August 2019
This report from the Child Rights International Network, Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK, states that the UK is the only country in Europe to recruit from age 16 and more soldiers are recruited at 16 than any other age.
Countering the Militarisation of Youth
An international network of organisations working to 'break the cycle of teaching violence to young people'. Run by War Resisters International.
National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
A network of organisations opposing the militarization of schools and young people in the USA.
Kids with guns
June 2019
Should the armed forces encourage young people to interact with weapons and military vehicles?
Our new web resource looks at why is this happening and asks if it is right and how can it be challenged?
The Warrior Nation podcast
The Warrior Nation podcast is a deep dive into military affairs and the relationship between defence, the armed forces and civil society in modern Britain, produced and edited by ForcesWatch.
Issues relating to Service Complaints system and the youngest armed forces personnel
May 2019
In this written submission to the Defence Committee's inquiry into the work of the Service Complaints Ombudsman, we focus on how issues with the complaints system may affect the youngest serving personnel in the armed forces, particularly those under 18 years old, and recommend that the youngest members of the armed forces are considered as a distinct group in relation to the functioning of the service complaints system.
Interrogating British armed forces recruiting in contemporary times
March 2019
In this lecture Professor Paul Higate from the University of Bath looks at the ways in which ‘British values’ have helped to obscure the militarised character of the nation, which is evident in its long history of the use of military violence abroad.
Paul draws upon his service in the RAF to discuss the British Army’s recruitment campaign ‘This is Belonging’, the Home Office instigated ‘hostile environment’ and the racialised character of social policy more broadly. Read the lecture transcript.
Selling the Military films
March 2019
At the launch event for our report with Medact on Selling the Military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK, contributors and participants told us why they think this is an important issue. And a longer film of the presentation summarising the report.
Resources to use with political representatives
updated 2019
Contact your MP, other political representative or local union or political branch about the military involvement in education and raising the age of military recruitment.
Model motion on military and defence industry influence in education
March 2019
For discussion in union or party branches and councils etc. The motion calls for oversight and regulation of military activities in schools, including for careers and curriculum purposes, and for military-themed activities or perspectives to be balanced by activities focusing on peace and human rights. It also calls for activities run by arms companies in schools to cease.