Security and Resilience
Our world-class research provides perspective informed by those most affected and leads debate at the cutting edge of security and resilience on land and at sea.
About the Theme
We examine preparedness, decision making and response to key security challenges on land and at sea. Our research enhances approaches to security across virtual and physical spaces, through including voices from local communities, key domestic actors in security provision, and regional and international actors such as the United Nations. This research incorporates private and public security providers to move beyond purely rational actor-orientated approaches, critically reflecting on issues of power and interests and engaging in relational aspects of security such as issues of trust and communication
We seek to engage in new and novel approaches to building adaptive, resilient decision making systems to prepare for and respond to critical incidents and long-wave threats. Our work on Security and Resilience appreciates that cooperative approaches to resilience co-created by local, national and international actors have significant value in building adaptable systems. This is informed by work undertaken into community-led resilience, the disaster resilience discourse, resilience in health systems, and resilience in relation to counter-terrorism.
Theme Leads
David Curran
Theme Lead
David’s primary research investigates the interaction between the fields of conflict resolution and military peacekeeping. David has published on military training for peacekeeping operations, the evolution of peacekeeping doctrine, civilian protection, as well as undertaking research into the United Kingdom’s relationship with UN peacekeeping. David leads on two projects in the Centre. One examines how community-level approaches can be incorporated into envisaging national security, and the other investigates the role of work-based learning in the peace and conflict studies field.
Charis Rice
Theme Co-Lead
Charis’s research centres around strategic communication and trust. She is particularly interested in government and security communication, the role of the media, professional behaviour and relationships in ‘high stakes’ roles, and the impacts on divided societies. Her funded research in these areas includes that on public-facing counter-terrorism communication campaigns, and on the identification of trust indicators in peacebulding and community resilience work.
Ioannis Chapsos
Theme Co-Lead
Ioannis’s research aims to better understand the land-sea nexus and examine the increasing involvement of non-state actors in international security especially through a gender lens. His research interests also encompass the global trend of privatisation of maritime security and the emerging cyber threats stemming from the technological advancements in the maritime domain. Ioannis has secured funding from International Organisations (EU, IOM, NATO) and Research Councils (ESRC, British Council) for capacity building activities and to examine maritime dimensions of transnational organised crime.
Publications
The members of the Security and Resilience Theme regularly publish articles, monographs, book chapters, and other media on this multidisciplinary subject. For the most recent publications, please see outputs on the Coventry University Pure page.
PublicationsProjects
The members of the Security and Reslience theme lead and collaborate on a number of research projects and additional projects are available on the Coventry University Research Portal.
ProjectsFeatured Projects
RBOC N+ - Resilience Beyond Observed Capabilities: Build a Network to Enable Resilient Solutions for Future UK Systems
The RBOC (Resilience Beyond Observed Capabilities) Network Plus will create new knowledge, new capabilities and new opportunities for collaboration to help the UK prepare for security threats in the coming decades.
Hybrid threats to Indonesia’s Maritime Security – an assessment of cyber and cyber-physical vulnerabilities in the world’s busiest shipping lanes
The EU-funded STRAITSECURITY project will investigate the impact of autonomous vehicles, AI, robotics and the Internet of things on some of the world’s busiest commercial shipping lanes: the Straits of Singapore and Malacca, the Sunda Strait and the Lombok Strait – all of which are partially or wholly within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Indonesia.
An Alternative Security Review for the United Kingdom
The Alternative Security Review is a 3-year project to create public dialogue in the UK on human and ecological security.
Prosecuting Extremists in the United Kingdom: An Exploration of Charging, Prosecution and Sentencing Outcomes
This project undertakes a comprehensive review and amalgamation of the existing academic literature relating to the charging, prosecution and sentencing of extremist actors, and includes consideration of the wider criminological and criminal justice literature on the prosecution landscape of non-extremist actors to identify potential variables of interest.
Situational Threat And Response Signals (STARS): Public-Facing Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communication Campaigns
The project establishes and elaborates a sophisticated and flexible appreciation of how and why communication campaigns designed to deter terrorism and deliver influence over public behaviour, achieve differing outcomes.
Towards hybridity in the Protection of Civilians
This networking grant provided funding for a series of workshops whereby policy actors and academic researchers engage on the topic of civilian protection. Workshops examined how intervening organisations have adapted their policies when operating within a shared space with other organisations, and how they react when local actors adapt, ignore, or resist their version of 'civilian protection'.
