Tom Watts Email & Phone Number

The Trump administration is argued to have fundamentally altered the direction of American foreign policy through its focus on great power competition with "revisionist powers", most notably China. Nevertheless, we know comparatively little about how this key aspect of Trump’s presidential legacy has impacted the dynamics associated with change and continuity in contemporary American foreign policy. This study seeks to contribute to International Relations scholarship by examining the relationship between the Trump administration’s approach toward great power competition and American foreign policy practices during the George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations. It has a particular focus on examining the relationship between great power competition, the Global War on Terror, and the technologies and practices associated with the concept of “remote warfare”.

As part of Dr Ingvild Bode's European Research Council funded AutoNorms Project, I have built two catalogues listing the use of autonomy in air defence systems and loitering munitions. I have also contributed to various research outputs including policy reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, and expert commentaries.Co-published by Drone Wars UK and the Centre for War Studies, University of Southern Denmark in January 2021, these research outputs have included the Meaning-Less Human Control: Lessons from Air Defence Systems for Lethal Autonomous report which examined the lessons to be learned from the diminishing human control of air defence systems for the international debates around weaponised AI.Published in 2023, the “Loitering Munitions and Unpredictability” report examines whether the use of automated, autonomous, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as part of the global development, testing, and fielding of loitering munitions since the 1980s has impacted emerging practices and social norms of human control over the use of force.This research informed the written evidence submitted by the AUTONORMS project to the UK’ Parliaments Tech and the Future of UK Foreign Policy enquiry and to the Chair of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS).

Module convenor: War and Security and American Foreign Policy: History, Ideas and CasesOther responsibilities: undergraduate dissertation supervisor; undergraduate and postgraduate personal tutor

Module convenor: Security and Governance, The State in the Twenty First Century, and Political DissertationSeminar leader: Anarchy, Order and Beyond: Studying International Relations, Comparing Political Systems, and The Art of War, and Msc course Social Science Research MethodsOther responsibilities: undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation supervision; undergraduate personal tutor; dissertation conference organizer; assessment moderation

Module convenor : Msc International Security (2019/2020), Msc Understanding Defence (2019/2020), and International Organisations (2019/2020)Seminar leader: War and Security in World Politics (2018/2019, 2019/2020) and Introduction to International Relations (2018/2019)Other responsibilities: postgraduate dissertation supervision; undergraduate and postgraduate personal tutor; assessment moderation

Responsible for managing a team of four academics, based at different institutions in the UK, and: (1) awarding 2 x £1,000 grants for postgraduate focused events; (2) organising 'Meet the Editors' event and wine reception at the annual BISA conference; (3) organising the 'PhD and Beyond Postgraduate Colloquium' held at the Hilton Garden Inn, Brindley Place, Birmingham;(4) writing quarterly reports on the BISA PGN's progress; (5) coordinating the BISA PGN’s social media activities including Twitter and Facebook accounts; (6) editing and managing the BISA PGN Teaching Blog; (7) overseeing the network’s general day to day management

Seminar leader: Contemporary Politics and Government in the United States (2015/2016, 2016/2017 & 2017/2018), Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan (2017/2018), and Introduction to Comparative Politics (2014/2015)During this time, I also worked as a member of the POLIR Skillshub, providing pastoral support and advice to undergraduate students on issues pertaining to essay writing and academic best practice.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd

Master'S Degree

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba