King's College London War Studies Society

On April 30th, Dr. Kenneth Payne an Baptiste Alloui-Cros will be presenting their research on AI Wargaming! Dr. Payne’s recent research has gone viral for showing that AI will resort to using Nuclear Weapons in 95% of games. Come join us to discuss this and more! Sign up here: https://forms.gle/Js7oJQKZTCPCkrLc7

KCL War Studies Society is excited to present a members trip to the National Army Museum to tour the exhibit Beyond Burma: Forgotten Armies.

Join us, for what promises to be a fascinating insight into British, Indian, Burmese and African troops, who determinedly fought under extreme conditions!

Entry is free, but there is a limited number of spaces so we will be working on a first come, first serve basis. Link in bio!

We are happy to announce our first ever London-wide War Studies social, in collaboration with War Studies Societies from KCL, LSE, and UCL! Sign up link: https://forms.gle/ekGoKQeWhbsbimB57

Join us and the LSE War Studies Society on Thursday, 19th of March for a Q&A speaker event with Dr Daniela Richterova & Dr Jill Kastner on exploring the history and evolution of covert action!

Dr. Daniela Richterova is a senior lecturer within the KCL Department of War Studies, being the current director of the MA in Intelligence and International Security as well as the current co-director of the King’s Centre for the Study of Intelligence. Outside of Kings, she also teaches on the Cambridge Security Initiative’s specialist course in Intelligence Security and Intelligence (ISI). Prior to her academic career, she worked at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Dr. Richterova’s current academic speciality focuses on Cold War intelligence, having published “Watching the Jackals” in 2025 which focuses on Prague’s covert liaisons with Cold War terrorists and revolutionaries.

Dr Jill Kastner is a London-based historian and KCL guest lecturer + researcher whose academic focus is international relations from the Cold War to present day, with an emphasis on intelligence & subversive action both covert and overt. Having completed her PhD at Harvard under the supervision of two of the most important US historians of presidential history, Ernest May & Philip Zelikow, Dr. Kastner went on to live in Russia to further enhance her expertise in Russian intelligence, foreign relations and security. She has also published an incredibly well-received book on the history of subversion in 2023 titled “A Measure Short of War.”

📆Thursday, 19th March 2026
🕕 18:30 - 20:00
📍Strand Campus - sign up to receive the room number via email!

Event is only available to members of KCL War Studies Society and/or members of LSE War Studies Society. Sign up using the respective form link in our bios!

Following our last successful film screening, we will be switching up the genre and tone by screening Werner Herzog’s famous Gulf War documentary ‘Lessons of Darkness’ from 1992.

In this one-hour post-war documentary, Herzog captures the Kuwaiti landscape engulfed in towering flames and thick black smoke after retreating Iraqi forces set the nation’s oil wells ablaze. Largely devoid of commentary, the film focuses on the environmental devastation caused by the fires and the monumental efforts of an international coalition of firefighters working to extinguish them under ‘Operation Desert Hell’. Beautifully shot yet visually haunting, the documentary serves as a stark reminder of the profound and lasting damage war can inflict on the environment and ecosystems.

Thursday, 12th March
18:15 entry, 18:30 introduction + film start.
Bush House Auditorium (Ground Floor)
Free for all to attend!

🛥️ Come join King’s War Studies Society for our annual boat party! 🪩🍾

📅 Date: 16th Feb
🕰️Time: 19:00-23:00
⏰Make sure to arrive by 18:45 ! The boat leaves at 19:00 and arrival past this time cannot be accommodated!
📍Location: Westminster Pier
👗Dress Code: Black Tie
🪪 Don’t forget to bring your student and government IDs!!

🎟️ Tickets are required (see main post for pricing details)

🌊 Get ready for an incredible night! We can’t wait to see you all there!! 🥂

We are excited to announce our upcoming trip to The Embassy of the Republic of Poland on the 26th of January! Spaces are limited so please sign up in the link in our Instagram story and link tree. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Fed up of solo studying? Pop by the Dockrill Room on Tuesday 16th December for an informal study session with your War Studies Wellbeing leads, where we can assure you there will be some serious deadline crunching!

Open to students of all years across the War Studies department, drop by at any time between 1-5pm, we’d love to see your faces! Snacks and motivation will be provided!

👋 Join us for our end of semester pub trip, happening next week after our end of year party. The pub trip will be a fun event and a good opportunity to connect with other war studies students. We look forward to seeing you there! 🎉

King’s War Studies Society + King’s Intelligence & Security Society presents an exclusive full day intelligence workshop run by Tristan and David, co-founders of the private intelligence company ‘Spyrian’.

Attendees will be able to earn a digital LinkedIn certificate after being taught:

⭕️ Core OSINT Knowledge & Techniques
⭕️ How to Trace International Airline Assets
⭕️ Geolocation of Individuals & Properties
⭕️ And So Much More!

📆Date: Saturday, 29 November
🕡Time: 10:00 to 17:00 - there will be breaks throughout the day.
📍Location: Strand Campus (attendees will be emailed the exact room number).

This event is only £12 for members of KCL War Studies Society + King’s Intelligence & Security Society. There are separate forms for respective society members: the WSS form can be found in the bio of the WSS Instagram page, and the ISS form can be found in the ISS page. Please sign up using the correct form for your society.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to be taught directly by top professionals working in the lucrative field of private intelligence and giving you the chance to practice these specific techniques that are highly sought after!