William D. James
@wdjames.bsky.social
Asst. Professor in Strategic Studies at NTU Singapore. Author of British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony (OUP, 2024). Research: Alliances, UK foreign & defence policy, European security & transatlantic relations.
www.williamdjames.com
www.williamdjames.com
Pinned
William D. James
@wdjames.bsky.social
· Nov 13
A nice surprise to see so many new followers. By way of intro, I'm based at NTU Singapore, where I teach on alliances and defence policy. My first book examines how the UK, as a 2nd tier power, makes grand strategy while underneath the US security umbrella. See here for more info: williamdjames.com
Reposted by William D. James
Many thanks to Will James for hosting me at RSIS (Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore to give a talk on U.S. Spacepower and alliance politics from the Cold War to today.
November 13, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Many thanks to Will James for hosting me at RSIS (Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore to give a talk on U.S. Spacepower and alliance politics from the Cold War to today.
Reposted by William D. James
The First Real Peace Settlement after the First World War. Why we can still learn a lot from the Locarno Pact - after 100 years. My latest essay for Engelsberg Ideas:
engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...
engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...
The Locarno Pact's enduring legacy
The Locarno Pact of 1925 provided the foundations for a more just, durable and peaceful European order. Although its early promise was snuffed out by the global crisis of the 1930s, the pact's guiding...
engelsbergideas.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:39 AM
The First Real Peace Settlement after the First World War. Why we can still learn a lot from the Locarno Pact - after 100 years. My latest essay for Engelsberg Ideas:
engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...
engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...
I've written a piece for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on the sources of grand strategic ideas. Best enjoyed over the weekend with a brew ☕
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 AM
I've written a piece for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on the sources of grand strategic ideas. Best enjoyed over the weekend with a brew ☕
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
Reposted by William D. James
Should the UK and Japan have a new formal defence alliance?
On this question, I agree with @wdjames.bsky.social that "rather than engaging in lengthy treaty negotiations, Britain and Japan should focus on tangible outcomes, such as delivering GCAP on time." www.britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-big-as...
On this question, I agree with @wdjames.bsky.social that "rather than engaging in lengthy treaty negotiations, Britain and Japan should focus on tangible outcomes, such as delivering GCAP on time." www.britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-big-as...
Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?
The Big Ask | No. 40.2025
www.britainsworld.org.uk
October 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Should the UK and Japan have a new formal defence alliance?
On this question, I agree with @wdjames.bsky.social that "rather than engaging in lengthy treaty negotiations, Britain and Japan should focus on tangible outcomes, such as delivering GCAP on time." www.britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-big-as...
On this question, I agree with @wdjames.bsky.social that "rather than engaging in lengthy treaty negotiations, Britain and Japan should focus on tangible outcomes, such as delivering GCAP on time." www.britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-big-as...
Do 🇬🇧 & 🇯🇵 need a formal defence alliance?
My view: They’re already building an entente - providing a degree of reassurance & deterrence. Better to focus on delivering GCAP than spend political capital on a time-consuming treaty.
Thanks @congeostrategy.bsky.social for inviting me to pitch in #BigAsk
My view: They’re already building an entente - providing a degree of reassurance & deterrence. Better to focus on delivering GCAP than spend political capital on a time-consuming treaty.
Thanks @congeostrategy.bsky.social for inviting me to pitch in #BigAsk
Should 🇬🇧 and 🇯🇵 move towards a formal defence alliance?
We asked 7 experts in today’s #BigAsk
✍️ Dr John Hemmings, Takeshi Ishikawa, @wdjames.bsky.social, Dr William Reynolds, Rena Sasaki, @shelter-jones.bsky.social, @michitotsuruoka.bsky.social
#BritainsWorld
We asked 7 experts in today’s #BigAsk
✍️ Dr John Hemmings, Takeshi Ishikawa, @wdjames.bsky.social, Dr William Reynolds, Rena Sasaki, @shelter-jones.bsky.social, @michitotsuruoka.bsky.social
#BritainsWorld
Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?
The Big Ask | No. 40.2025
www.britainsworld.org.uk
October 6, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Do 🇬🇧 & 🇯🇵 need a formal defence alliance?
My view: They’re already building an entente - providing a degree of reassurance & deterrence. Better to focus on delivering GCAP than spend political capital on a time-consuming treaty.
Thanks @congeostrategy.bsky.social for inviting me to pitch in #BigAsk
My view: They’re already building an entente - providing a degree of reassurance & deterrence. Better to focus on delivering GCAP than spend political capital on a time-consuming treaty.
Thanks @congeostrategy.bsky.social for inviting me to pitch in #BigAsk
"Strengthening European nuclear and conventional capabilities, through more Franco-British cooperation among other things, is not simply a desirable option. It is becoming an unavoidable necessity."
warontherocks.com/2025/09/can-...
warontherocks.com/2025/09/can-...
Can More British and French Nuclear Cooperation Help Deter Russia?
As Europe continues to come to terms with both the Russian threat amid the war in Ukraine as well as the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. commitment to
warontherocks.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:16 AM
"Strengthening European nuclear and conventional capabilities, through more Franco-British cooperation among other things, is not simply a desirable option. It is becoming an unavoidable necessity."
warontherocks.com/2025/09/can-...
warontherocks.com/2025/09/can-...
Reposted by William D. James
#AUKUS survives Pentagon review |
'The Trump admin will proceed with the #AUKUS defense pact linking the 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 & 🇦🇺, maintaining the original timeline that includes the sale of 3 Virginia-class subs to Canberra beginning in 2032'
asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/tr...
'The Trump admin will proceed with the #AUKUS defense pact linking the 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 & 🇦🇺, maintaining the original timeline that includes the sale of 3 Virginia-class subs to Canberra beginning in 2032'
asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/tr...
AUKUS survives Pentagon review, with US submarine sales to proceed
Washington to conclude evaluation ahead of Australian PM's visit on Oct. 20
asia.nikkei.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:37 PM
#AUKUS survives Pentagon review |
'The Trump admin will proceed with the #AUKUS defense pact linking the 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 & 🇦🇺, maintaining the original timeline that includes the sale of 3 Virginia-class subs to Canberra beginning in 2032'
asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/tr...
'The Trump admin will proceed with the #AUKUS defense pact linking the 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 & 🇦🇺, maintaining the original timeline that includes the sale of 3 Virginia-class subs to Canberra beginning in 2032'
asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/tr...
Reposted by William D. James
Reposted by William D. James
What should be the top priorities for 🇬🇧 new Foreign Secretary?
We asked 5 experts in today’s #BigAsk
✍️ @samagoodman.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social, Joe Pollard, @james-rogers.bsky.social, Dr Marc De Vore
#BritainsWorld
We asked 5 experts in today’s #BigAsk
✍️ @samagoodman.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social, Joe Pollard, @james-rogers.bsky.social, Dr Marc De Vore
#BritainsWorld
What should be the top priorities for Britain’s new Foreign Secretary?
The Big Ask | No. 39.2025
www.britainsworld.org.uk
September 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
What should be the top priorities for 🇬🇧 new Foreign Secretary?
We asked 5 experts in today’s #BigAsk
✍️ @samagoodman.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social, Joe Pollard, @james-rogers.bsky.social, Dr Marc De Vore
#BritainsWorld
We asked 5 experts in today’s #BigAsk
✍️ @samagoodman.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social, Joe Pollard, @james-rogers.bsky.social, Dr Marc De Vore
#BritainsWorld
Reposted by William D. James
From the 18th-century partition of Poland to the appeasement of Hitler, Europe's troubled history warns us that indecision and inaction only serve to embolden expansionist powers and their imperial designs.
The price of appeasement | Adam Zamoyski
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The price of appeasement | Adam Zamoyski
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The price of appeasement
From the 18th-century partition of Poland to the appeasement of Hitler, Europe's troubled history warns us that indecision and inaction only serve to embolden expansionist powers and their imperial de...
engelsbergideas.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:09 PM
From the 18th-century partition of Poland to the appeasement of Hitler, Europe's troubled history warns us that indecision and inaction only serve to embolden expansionist powers and their imperial designs.
The price of appeasement | Adam Zamoyski
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The price of appeasement | Adam Zamoyski
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Reposted by William D. James
My most recent piece for the Council on Geostrategy tackles how military alliances can relate to strategic advantage.
Read the latest #Memorandum by @lanoszka.bsky.social, our International Fellow, exploring:
🇬🇧 ‘NATO-first’ approach to deterrence
👎 Disadvantages of alliances
🌍 How sovereignty and minilateralism help 🇬🇧 manage these
#BritainsWorld
🇬🇧 ‘NATO-first’ approach to deterrence
👎 Disadvantages of alliances
🌍 How sovereignty and minilateralism help 🇬🇧 manage these
#BritainsWorld
Alliances and strategic advantage
The Memorandum | No. 38.2025
www.britainsworld.org.uk
September 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
My most recent piece for the Council on Geostrategy tackles how military alliances can relate to strategic advantage.
Reposted by William D. James
‘One lesson is absolutely crucial: the 🇬🇧 Armed Forces need a cost-effective Counter Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) capability, and they need it soon,’ says @willfreer.bsky.social, our Research Fellow
#BigAsk #BritainsWorld
#BigAsk #BritainsWorld
In light of the Russian incursion into Polish airspace, how should Britain respond?
The Big Ask | No. 37.2025
www.britainsworld.org.uk
September 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
‘One lesson is absolutely crucial: the 🇬🇧 Armed Forces need a cost-effective Counter Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) capability, and they need it soon,’ says @willfreer.bsky.social, our Research Fellow
#BigAsk #BritainsWorld
#BigAsk #BritainsWorld
Reposted by William D. James
Reposted by William D. James
Britain stands at a crossroads: follow an unpredictable America, or help shape Europe’s defense future.
British Grand Strategy Without America - War on the Rocks
William D. James, British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony (Oxford University Press, 2024) Back in June, academics and naval officers from
warontherocks.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Britain stands at a crossroads: follow an unpredictable America, or help shape Europe’s defense future.
Reposted by William D. James
Reposted by William D. James
Turin, the strange heart of modern Italy | @amwilson.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/tur...
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/tur...
Turin, the strange heart of modern Italy
Despite being the first capital of a united Italy, Turin does not feel remotely Italian. Yet the longer one wanders its streets, the more the city's powerful role in forging the modern Italian nation ...
engelsbergideas.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Turin, the strange heart of modern Italy | @amwilson.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/tur...
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/tur...
Reposted by William D. James
I just received my first copy of the book!
August 27, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I just received my first copy of the book!
Reposted by William D. James
We have liftoff! With thanks to @stanfordpress. To be launched in Oxford with @OxfordCCW, details to follow. Coming in October.
August 25, 2025 at 9:21 PM
We have liftoff! With thanks to @stanfordpress. To be launched in Oxford with @OxfordCCW, details to follow. Coming in October.
Delighted to see my book featured in @warontherocks.bsky.social. Thanks, @salisbot.bsky.social!
Is there a British grand strategy without America?
Yes, absolutely.
My latest for War on the Rocks ⬇️
warontherocks.com/2025/08/brit...
Yes, absolutely.
My latest for War on the Rocks ⬇️
warontherocks.com/2025/08/brit...
British Grand Strategy Without America - War on the Rocks
William D. James, British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony (Oxford University Press, 2024) Back in June, academics and naval officers from
warontherocks.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Delighted to see my book featured in @warontherocks.bsky.social. Thanks, @salisbot.bsky.social!
Reposted by William D. James
Prof John Bew recently reviewed a new book for the Times Literary Supplement. He discusses how, amid debt, manpower shortages, and fears of Soviet domination, Whitehall sought to preserve Britain’s influence in a fragile postwar world.
Link to the article: www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
Link to the article: www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
Pursuing pole position
No sooner had VE Day arrived in May 1945 than work on Operation Unthinkable began. Though the Allies had been triumphant against Hitler and were confident that victory in the Pacific would soon follow...
www.the-tls.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Prof John Bew recently reviewed a new book for the Times Literary Supplement. He discusses how, amid debt, manpower shortages, and fears of Soviet domination, Whitehall sought to preserve Britain’s influence in a fragile postwar world.
Link to the article: www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
Link to the article: www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
Reposted by William D. James
With the recent flurry of diplomatic activity this past week, there has been renewed interest in the proposed 'Multinational Force Ukraine'.
I write here on the proposed structure of this Reassurance Force, its pros, cons, and the question over its strategic utility.
I write here on the proposed structure of this Reassurance Force, its pros, cons, and the question over its strategic utility.
Reassurance Force Redux: Ukraine and the Allies
On deploying western forces to Ukraine
crackingdefence.substack.com
August 20, 2025 at 11:28 AM
With the recent flurry of diplomatic activity this past week, there has been renewed interest in the proposed 'Multinational Force Ukraine'.
I write here on the proposed structure of this Reassurance Force, its pros, cons, and the question over its strategic utility.
I write here on the proposed structure of this Reassurance Force, its pros, cons, and the question over its strategic utility.
"The real test of a book is if and how it generates responses, extension, and even controversy...One hopes that British Grand Strategy in the Age of Hegemony will generate a substantial body of related scholarship."
Thanks to Prof. Peter Dombrowski for this generous review! tinyurl.com/yacdwwb7
Thanks to Prof. Peter Dombrowski for this generous review! tinyurl.com/yacdwwb7
H-Diplo|RJISSF Review Essay 135: Dombrowski on James, _British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony_ | H-Net
H-Diplo | Robert Jervis International Security Studies ForumReview Essay 135William D. James. British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony. Oxford University Press, 2024. ISBN: 9780198896609...
tinyurl.com
August 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
"The real test of a book is if and how it generates responses, extension, and even controversy...One hopes that British Grand Strategy in the Age of Hegemony will generate a substantial body of related scholarship."
Thanks to Prof. Peter Dombrowski for this generous review! tinyurl.com/yacdwwb7
Thanks to Prof. Peter Dombrowski for this generous review! tinyurl.com/yacdwwb7
Reposted by William D. James
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable Review 16-51 on Balzacq and Krebs, eds. _The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy_
issforum.org/roundtables/...
issforum.org/roundtables/...
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable Review 16-51 on Balzacq and Krebs, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy
1 August 2025 | PDF: https://issforum.org/to/jrt16-51 | Website: rjissf.org | Twitter: @HDiplo Editor: Diane Labrosse Commissioning Editor: Andrew Szarejko Production Editor: Christopher Ball Pre…
issforum.org
August 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable Review 16-51 on Balzacq and Krebs, eds. _The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy_
issforum.org/roundtables/...
issforum.org/roundtables/...
Reposted by William D. James
Republicans, Democrats alike exhort Trump: Keep security pact with Australia and UK alive |
Great to chat with Albee Zhang for this important #AUKUS piece 👇
@nscanu.bsky.social @UNSWCanberra @congeostrategy.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/trum...
Great to chat with Albee Zhang for this important #AUKUS piece 👇
@nscanu.bsky.social @UNSWCanberra @congeostrategy.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/trum...
Republicans, Democrats alike exhort Trump: Keep security pact with Australia and UK alive
U.S. lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to maintain a security partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom to supply nuclear-powered submarines.
apnews.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Republicans, Democrats alike exhort Trump: Keep security pact with Australia and UK alive |
Great to chat with Albee Zhang for this important #AUKUS piece 👇
@nscanu.bsky.social @UNSWCanberra @congeostrategy.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/trum...
Great to chat with Albee Zhang for this important #AUKUS piece 👇
@nscanu.bsky.social @UNSWCanberra @congeostrategy.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/trum...