Professor Basil Germond SFHEA FRGS
Professor of International SecurityProfile
I am a Professor of International Security in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion and Co-Director of the University research institute Security Lancaster. My field of expertise is seapower and maritime security. I favour multi-disciplinary approaches across social sciences and beyond. My research on naval affairs and maritime security engages with public policy stakeholders and the wider public.
I joined Lancaster in 2011 as a lecturer and was promoted to senior lecturer in 2015 and to chair in 2022. Prior to my coming to Lancaster, I was Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford (Changing Character of War programme) and Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews. I got my PhD from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva.
Research Overview
I am a seapower and maritime security expert. My research is cross-disciplinary and aims at understanding human, social and political interactions at, from, within, and with the sea. I privilege mixed methods and approaches, ranging from corpus linguistics to content analysis to the application of IR theories. My specific research interests cover the concept of seapower, maritime security, maritime strategy and geopolitics, the maritime/naval dimension of Global Britain, ocean governance, climate change dimensions in maritime security, and frontiers in IR. I have developed cross-disciplinary research within social sciences (e.g. linguistics, human geography) and beyond, notably with marine science.
The journals in which my research has recently been published reflect my cross-disciplinary approach to ocean studies, e.g., Territory, Politics, Governance, The Australian Naval Review, Climatic Change, The Geographical Journal, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Marine Policy, Science of the Total Environment, European Foreign Affairs Review, Global Policy.
My research engages with, and informs, public policy stakeholders (see for example the oral evidence I gave to Parliament in May 2022 on questions of maritime security, the oral evidence I gave in May 2023 on Arctic geopolitics and polar research, the oral evidence I gave in February 2024 on freedom of navigation, as well as the evidence I submitted in 2021 to the Defence Committee of the House of Commons on the Navy's future, and those I co-submitted to the House of Lords regarding UNCLOS). My research recently informed the Defence Committee's report on "The Navy: purpose and procurement" as well as its March 2022 report on "The use of the military to counter migrant crossings". In 2023, my evidence on the geopolitics of the High North were cited/quotes 11 times in the Scottish Affairs Committee's report on "Defence in Scotland". In 2021, I informed the Department for Transport and the EU Council on the climate change-maritime security nexus (click here to access the underlying research).
My research also engages with the wider public (see for example my June 2021 commentary in The Conversation about the HMS Defender incident, my September 2021 commentary about AUKUS and Global Britain for the Council on Geostrategy, and my November 2021 article for The National Interest on Global Britain and Seapower). I have recently written on the maritime and naval dimension of the Ukraine war (see for example my article in the Conversation as well as my TV interviews here and there). I have frequently contributed to engaging the wider public with questions of international security via the Conversation, of which Lancaster University is a founding partner. I have featured, among others, on BBC News, BBC Radio, NBC, RTE, France 24, Businees Insider and the Economist. I have also contributed to raising awarness of the importance of the sea in the local community (e.g. photo exhibition and public talk I organised in Morecambe funded by the ESRC Festival of Social Science).
I am a member of the ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS) with projects on maritime security narratives as well as the representation of the sea in collective imaginaries, of Security Lancaster, of which I am the Co-Director, and of the Centre for War and Diplomacy (CWD). My research and engagement contribute to the University's interdisciplinary initiative in Security and Protection Science.
Current Research
1) Within the Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS), ESRC-funded, I have worked on the EU's 'comprehensive approach' narrative, and I currently work on climate change and maritime security narratives as well as on the representation of the sea in British media (see the Policy Brief). I am also co-authoring a book on Britain, Europe and Brexit: A Corpus Linguistics Approach (Bloomsbury, 2024) with Helen Baker, Vaclav Brezina and Tony McEnery.
2) My new monograph (McGill University Press, 2024) discusses the concept and practice of post-modern and neo-modern seapower. I work on the evolution of the practice of seapower towards a more collective and civilian application of seapower (see for example my recent analysis of seapower and the Ukraine war).
3) I am currently working on the conceptualisation of ocean governance and the placefulness of the sea, and the implications for the discipline of IR and Human Geography. See my latest article on the media representation of the sea published in the Geographical Journal and in Science of the Total Environment.
4) I work on an inter-disciplinary project on the dependencies and synergistic links between climate change and maritime security (IR and natural/marine sciences). I have advised public policy stakeholders at the UK (e.g. House of Lords, House of Commons, DfT, Navy), EU and UN levels on these questions. I currently work on a systematic review of the question. My research on this topic with A.D. Mazaris has been cited in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (Working Group II: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability).
5) In the context of the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, my research informs stakeholders as to the role of the sea and seapower for Global Britain. I developed the concept of collective and corporate seapower (see the recording on YouTube of the expert panel discussion at King's College). I also applied this concept to the case of the Ukraine war and the role played by civilian maritime stakeholders.
6) Within Security Lancaster, I work on the maritime dimension of security, including its cyber dimension (click to listen to my Cyber Podcast, and to read on the geopolitics of cyber maritime) and critical maritime infrastructures (click to read my op-ed on ports as sites for security and defense).
Qualifications
I have an interdisciplinary UG degree (4-year licence) in International Relations (political science, international history, international economics, international law), a 2-year master degree in History and International Politics and a PhD in International Relations (Geneva). I also have a PG Certificate in academic practice (Lancaster) and I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA (SFHEA). I have a level 5 certificate in leadership and management. I am a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS).
Professional Role
I have extensive experience in academic governance and leadership, both in teaching & learning enhancement and academic standards & quality assurance. I held several departmental positions: Director of Postgraduate taught studies, Director of Distance-learning, Admission tutor in IR, and programme director in IR. From 2018 to 2022, I have been a member of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ Senior Leadership team and a member of the University Standing Committee on Academic Regulations. Externally, I have represented the University on AHRC NWCDTP and ESRC NWSSDTP Training, Employment and Knowledge Exchange (TEKE) panels and I have been the ESRC NWSSDTP Institutional Politics Pathway Rep/Lead (2018-2022).
Current roles and external affiliations
-Co-Director of the University Research Institute Security Lancaster. My missions are to increase the social science dimension of our work and our engagement with policy stakeholders.
- Member of the University Data Cyber Quarter (DCQ) Advisory Group, as part of Lancaster's Security and Protection Science initiative.
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS).
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
- Associate Researcher, the Pierre du Bois Foundation for Current History, Switzerland.
Current Teaching
My approach to teaching is multi/inter-disciplinary across the Arts and Social Sciences, in particular International Relations theories, foreign policy analysis, security studies, current history, human geography, and discourse analysis. I embrace blended approaches to teaching, including synchronous and asynchronous distance learning.
In 2023/24, I teach 'Seapower and Maritime Geopolitics' to our Part 1 students.
In the past academic years, I have taught modules on International Relations and Security, Foreign Policy Analysis, Quality Assurance in Higher Education, and Qualitative Research Methods, in addition to supervising UG, PGT and PGR research projects on a wide range of International Security topics.
PhD Supervisions Completed
PhD projects
-Andrew Taylor (viva 2017), Maritime Strategy in the Era of Control and Denial of Visibility, ESRC funded, Forthwith award of PhD. Andrew is currently Teaching Fellow at King's College, London.
-Lee Turpin (viva 2017), Developing and utilising a Realist-Constructivist analytical framework towards understanding the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy, ESRC funded.
-Wasiu Balogun (viva 2018), Crude Oil Theft, Petro-Piracy and Illegal Trade in Fuel: An Enterprise-Value Chain Perspective of Energy-Maritime Crime in the Gulf of Guinea, PTDF funded, Co-supervised with Dr Marsden.
-Wai Shun Chan (viva 2020), Bringing the Ports and Port Diplomacy Back-in: A Comparative Study of the Role of Hong Kong, Macao and Shanghai in Contemporary EU-China Relations.
-Emma Williams (viva 2020), Ecological Civilisation: Identity, Power and Status, Faculty funded, Co-supervised with Dr Nordin and Dr Chubb.
Internship projects
-Jess Hindley (Summer 2022), The Impacts of Climate Change on Maritime Security: A Systematic Academic Review, funded via PPR undergraduate research internship scheme.
-Kyle Westrip (Summer 2023), Decolonising Seapower: A Study of non-European Texts, funded via PPR undergraduate research internship scheme.
Master projects
Since 2011, I have supervised in excess of 50 MA dissertations.
PhD Supervision Interests
I am happy to supervise projects related to my field of research (c.f. above), in particular on maritime/naval affairs; ocean governance; the concept of seapower; climate change and maritime security; the maritime dimension of Global Britain; IR theories in a cross-disciplinary setting. I am open to inter/cross-disciplinary projects including (but not limited to) international relations, political science, security studies, history, human geography, corpus linguistics, and marine science.
SL: Countering Malicious Online Security Cultures (CYBER MALCULT)
01/02/2024 → 28/02/2027
Research
SL: Countering Malicious Online Security Cultures (CYBER MALCULT)
01/02/2024 → 28/02/2027
Research
SL: Cyber Security Body of Knowledge (CyBOK)
01/12/2023 → 29/02/2024
Research
SL: Security of Artificial Intelligence: Assessing Vulnerabilities, Transferable Attack Tools and Compromise Indicators of AI Technologies (AISEC)
15/11/2023 → 29/02/2024
Research
SL: Security of Artificial Intelligence: Assessing Vulnerabilities, Transferable Attack Tools and Compromise Indicators of AI Technologies (AISEC)
15/11/2023 → 29/02/2024
Research
SL: Security of Artificial Intelligence: Assessing Vulnerabilities, Transferable Attack Tools and Compromise Indicators of AI Technologies (AISEC)
15/11/2023 → 29/02/2024
Research
Decolonizing Seapower Studies
01/01/2023 → …
Research
CASS ESRC Transition Funding
01/04/2018 → 31/01/2024
Research
Representation of the Sea
01/02/2017 → …
Research
Climate Change and Maritime Security
15/01/2017 → …
Research
Ocean governance
01/01/2016 → …
Other
The Cultural Dimension of Chinese Seapower
01/04/2015 → …
Other
Seapower in the Post-Modern World
01/01/2015 → …
Other
Maritime Cyber Security
01/06/2014 → …
Other
ESRC centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science - CASS
31/03/2013 → 30/03/2018
Research
The Maritime Dimension of European Security
01/07/2011 → 01/05/2015
Other
Journal of Transport Geography (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Interviewed by France 24 on Iran's presence in the Red Sea
Expert Opinion
Pre-modern Seapower Thought and Practice in Asia
Oral presentation
Briefing to the Research and Trend Analysis Branch of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Expert Opinion
Giving oral evidence to the Joint Select Committee on the National Security Strategy (UK Parliament)
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by Business Insider and cited in 3 articles on the use of maritime drones by Ukraine
Expert Opinion
Advising DfT on Maritime Security
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by NBC on Iran's presence in the Red Sea
Expert Opinion
Written evidence on “The UK’s economic security” (UK Parliament, Joint Select Committee on the National Security Strategy)
Expert Opinion
'Big Asks': What is at stake in the Red Sea?
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by BBC Northern Ireland on the the impacts of the Red Sea crisis
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by RTE (Ireland) on Houthi attacks
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by Ara newspaper (Spain/Catalonia) on the airstrikes against Houthi positions
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by BBC News on the airstrikes against Houthis
Expert Opinion
Commentary on the situation in the Red Sea
Other
Interviewed by Czech outlet Voxpot on the geopolitics of the Red Sea
Other
ESRC Peer Review College (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
Commentary on the naval response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea
Other
Interviewed by France 24 on Russia's official launch of new nuclear submarines
Expert Opinion
Lancaster Defence and Security Dialogue
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Polity Press (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Commentary on the maritime dimension of the winter phase of the Ukraine war
Other
'Maritime Britain in the 21st Century' - academia-policy dialogue event
Other
Interviewed by France 24 on the attack of a civilian ship in the Red Sea
Expert Opinion
Cyber Security: An Organisational and Management Perspective
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Quoted by France 24 on the warship BRP Sierra Madre
Expert Opinion
Commentary on the new geopolitics of the Black Sea
Other
Interviewed by Business Insider on the geopolitical situation in the Black Sea
Expert Opinion
Interviewed by France 24 on the geopolitical situation in the Black Sea
Expert Opinion
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Commentary on the geopolitical situation in the Black Sea
Other
Interviewed by the Bulgarian National Radio on the geopolitical situation in the Black Sea
Expert Opinion
‘Global Maritime Trends 2050’
Expert Opinion
Ports Dialogue: Ports as novel hubs of ocean governance
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre
Hosting a Non-Academic Visitor
Defence Command Paper 2023: An evolving British force posture?
Expert Opinion
Cyber Leadership Symposium 2023
Symposium
British International Studies Association 2023 Conference
Participation in conference - Academic
Giving oral evidence to The House of Commons' Environmental Audit Sub-Committee on Polar Research
Expert Opinion
Andrew Lambert
Hosting an academic visitor
Interviewed by the Economist Impact (the policy research and advisory arm of The Economist Group) on ‘Global Maritime Trends 2050’.
Expert Opinion
Interviewed on the role of maritime drones by a major Slovakian daily newspaper
Other
Response to SONAC’s “Call for submissions to shape the next Defence Command Paper”
Other
The Importance of the Indo-Pacific to British Security
Invited talk
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Roundtable: UK Grand Strategy and Defence
Invited talk
Contesting the Cold Commons: Maritime and Aerospace Strategy in the High North
Invited talk
Cited and quoted by the Transport Committee (House of Commons) in their inquiry's report on "Maritime 2050"
Expert Opinion
Commentary on the maritime dimension of the Integrated Review refresh (IR23)
Other
Commentary to commemorate one year of fighting at sea in the Ukraine war
Other
Attending 'Energy Security in the Baltic and Northern Europe' at the House of Lords
Other
International Affairs (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Decolonizing Seapower Studies
Oral presentation
Requested by the Scottish Affairs Committee (UK Parliament, House of Commons) to submit evidence on “Defence in Scotland”
Expert Opinion
Progress in Human Geography (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Interviewed on the new phase of the war in Ukraine via Globelynx
Expert Opinion
De Gruyter (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Maritime Policy and Management (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Defra - Marine and Fisheries Social Sciences workshop
Expert Opinion
Commentary on Russia's continental mindset
Other
Expert advice provided in view of the ESRC NWSSDTP recommissioning
Expert Opinion
Commentary on the maritime dimension of Ukraine's southern counteroffensive
Other
RUSI (Royal United Services Institute) (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Commentary on the Grain Deal (Ukraine war)
Other
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - Discussion of the Climate Change-Maritime Crime nexus
Other
Commentary on the strategic implications of reclaiming Snake Island (Ukraine war)
Other
Quoted in the Danish daily newspaper Dagbladet Information on the maritime turn of the Ukraine war
Other
Interviewed on the intensification of the Ukraine war at sea by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (Forces TV)
Expert Opinion
Commentary on the maritime dimension of the Ukraine war in June 2022
Other
Interviewed on the blockade of Ukraine by the Danish daily newspaper Dagbladet Information
Other
Securing Britain’s Seas 2: Implementing the 2022 UK National Strategy for Maritime Security
Other
PPR undergraduate research internship
Other
Giving oral evidence to The House of Commons' Transport Committee
Expert Opinion
Interviewed on the naval dimension of the Ukraine war by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (Forces TV)
Expert Opinion
Continental or Maritime? The Integrated Review and the Future of British Grand Strategy
Invited talk
Marine Management Organisation
Business Engagement
Commentary/Analysis of the maritime dimension of the Ukraine war for E-International Relations
Other
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Listed in the British Academy’s List of Experts on the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Expert Opinion
Commentary/Analysis of the maritime dimension of the Ukraine war
Other
African Security Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Peer-reviewing for the ESRC
Other
Publication of "Representation of the Sea in the UK Press: Public Awareness of the Oceans"
Other
Cited and quoted by the Defence Committee (House of Commons) in their inquiry's report on the future of the Royal Navy
Expert Opinion
Public Talk 'Perception of the Sea in Morecambe and Beyond' (ESRC Festival of Social Science)
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
Geopolitics (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Commentary on AUKUS: The realisation of ‘Global Maritime Britain’
Other
ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021: Perception of the Sea in Morecambe and Beyond
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition
The RUSI Journal (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Commissioned by the Maritime Foundation to write on "Global Britain and Seapower"
Other
Advising DfT on Environmental Security and the Maritime Domain
Expert Opinion
Research training and Well-being
Invited talk
European Security (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Commentary/Analysis of the HMS Defender incident off Crimea
Other
The Oceans are Back. A Blue IdeasLab
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Response to the Call for evidence: “The Navy: purpose and procurement” (UK Parliament, Defence Committee)
Expert Opinion
Data for Policy 2021 (Event)
Publication peer-review
Political Geography (Journal)
Publication peer-review
PhD external examiner at University of Aberdeen
Examination
Global Society (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Peer-reviewing for the ESRC
Other
Referee for the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
Other
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Marine Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Europe, Maritime Security and Small Navies
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Climate Change and Maritime Security
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Workshop on Global Governance Reform Initiative: Oceans Governance
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Cogea (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel
European Union
Business Engagement
University of Central Lancashire (External organisation)
Membership of committee
China’s Seapower in Perspective: The Historical and Cultural Dimension
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Maritime Security - Naval Strategy in the 21st Century
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
The Future of Maritime Cyber Security
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Workshop “Into the Blue: Rethinking Maritime Security”
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Workshop: European views of the Strategic Pivot
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Chiefs of European Navies (CHENS) annual meeting (2014)
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
ESRC Seminar Series “Fostering Sustainable Development: Examining the challenges posed by maritime insecurity"
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
ESRC Seminar Series 2012-14: ‘NATO after Afghanistan’
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Chiefs of European Navies (CHENS) annual meeting
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS)
Election to learned society
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Election to learned society
Appointment as External Examiner
Appointment
Centre for War and Diplomacy
Centre for War and Diplomacy
- Centre for War and Diplomacy
- ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science
- Richardson Institute for Peace Studies
- Security Lancaster
- Security Lancaster (Policy, Law and Ethics)
- Security Lancaster (Security Futures)
- Security Lancaster (Societal Threats)