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Reposted by William D. James

Alexander Lanoszka @lanoszka.bsky.social · 5d

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...

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

The Big Ask | No. 40.2025

www.britainsworld.org.uk

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William D. James @wdjames.bsky.social · 2d

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

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

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

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

The Big Ask | No. 40.2025

www.britainsworld.org.uk

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William D. James @wdjames.bsky.social · 7d

"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-...

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Jen Parker @japarker29.bsky.social · 8d

#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...

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 14d

How seapower shaped the Hundred Years War | Jonathan Sumption

engelsbergideas.com/essays/how-s...

How seapower shaped the Hundred Years War

During 14th and 15th centuries, seapower played a crucial role in the fortunes of English and French kings. The painful lessons of England's ultimate defeat would shape English, and later British, nav...

engelsbergideas.com

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Reposted by William D. James

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 12d

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

What should be the top priorities for Britain’s new Foreign Secretary?

The Big Ask | No. 39.2025

www.britainsworld.org.uk

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Reposted by William D. James

Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 15d

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

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Alexander Lanoszka @lanoszka.bsky.social · 13d

My most recent piece for the Council on Geostrategy tackles how military alliances can relate to strategic advantage.

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 13d

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

Alliances and strategic advantage

The Memorandum | No. 38.2025

www.britainsworld.org.uk

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William D. James @wdjames.bsky.social · 18d

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

‘We’re insanely hubristic’: how The Rest Is History became the world’s biggest history podcast

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook on storytelling, their strangest interactions with fans and bonding over The Lord of the Rings

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by William D. James

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 26d

‘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

In light of the Russian incursion into Polish airspace, how should Britain respond?

The Big Ask | No. 37.2025

www.britainsworld.org.uk

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Reposted by William D. James

Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 27d

Macron goes back to Gaullism | @agnescpoirier.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/mac...

Macron goes back to Gaullism

Sébastien Lecornu, France's new prime minister, belongs to a French Right that does not exist anymore: Gaullist and social minded. Can he appease his country's fractious parliament?

engelsbergideas.com

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Reposted by William D. James

War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · Aug 27

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · Aug 26

How Europe can make Putin pay | Peter Rough

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/how...

How Europe can make Putin pay

Instead of ensnaring Trump in Alaska, Putin may have trapped himself. Now, European leaders must act quickly to convince the US President that he can tip the battlefield in Ukraine’s favour at an acce...

engelsbergideas.com

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Reposted by William D. James

Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · Aug 26

Turin, the strange heart of modern Italy | @amwilson.bsky.social

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · Aug 27

I just received my first copy of the book!

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Reposted by William D. James

Patrick Porter @patporter76.bsky.social · Aug 25

We have liftoff! With thanks to @stanfordpress. To be launched in Oxford with @OxfordCCW, details to follow. Coming in October.

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William D. James @wdjames.bsky.social · Aug 26

Delighted to see my book featured in @warontherocks.bsky.social. Thanks, @salisbot.bsky.social!

Dr Emma Salisbury @salisbot.bsky.social · Aug 25

Is there a British grand strategy without America?

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Centre for Statecraft & National Security @csns-uk.bsky.social · Aug 19

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...

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Matthew Palmer @so3brocktree.bsky.social · Aug 20

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.

Reassurance Force Redux: Ukraine and the Allies

On deploying western forces to Ukraine

crackingdefence.substack.com

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William D. James @wdjames.bsky.social · Aug 19

Thanks also to ‪the @h-diplo.bsky.social‬ team for commissioning the review.

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William D. James @wdjames.bsky.social · Aug 19

"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

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

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Reposted by William D. James

H-Diplo with the Jervis Forum @h-diplo.bsky.social · Aug 1

H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable Review 16-51 on Balzacq and Krebs, eds. _The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy_
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

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Reposted by William D. James

Jen Parker @japarker29.bsky.social · Aug 13

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...

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

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Reposted by William D. James

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · Aug 7

✍️ ‘It is not enough just to be resilient against attack ... 🇬🇧 should regain the initiative and take the fight to 🇷🇺 in the sub-threshold arena,’ writes @so3brocktree.bsky.social, our Adjunct Fellow

#Memorandum #BritainsWorld

Striking back through the fog: A more muscular approach to sub-threshold threats

The Memorandum | No. 31.2025

www.britainsworld.org.uk

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Reposted by William D. James

Lawrence Freedman @ldfreedman.bsky.social · Aug 8

My obituary of my late colleague Brian Bond in the Guardian. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Brian Bond obituary

Military historian whose books, notably on the two world wars, helped to establish the subject as a serious field of academic endeavour

www.theguardian.com

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