Dr Aggie Hirst
Reader in International Relations Theory and Methods
Research interests
- International relations
Contact details
Biography
Dr Aggie Hirst is a Reader in International Relations Theory and Methods in the Department of War Studies. Her BA, MA, and doctoral degrees were completed at the University of Manchester. Her ESRC-funded PhD exploring the Straussian/neoconservative promotion of the 2003 invasion of Iraq was completed in 2010. Prior to joining King’s in 2017, Dr Hirst held lectureships at the University of Leeds and City, University of London. Her first book was published with Routledge in 2013.
Dr Hirst’s research is situated in the fields of international political theory and critical military studies. She is Principal Investigator on a Leverhulme Trust and British Academy funded research project exploring the US military’s use of wargames and simulations for teaching/training purposes. She is currently writing her second book, The Politics of Play: Wargaming with the US Military (forthcoming, Oxford University Press), which explores of the phenomena of play and immersion, arguing that the ‘flow state’ generated by gaming is being used to instil doctrine and cultivate mental and physical muscle memory in service members. She has published articles with International Studies Quarterly (2022), International Political Sociology (2021), Critical Military Studies (2020), and Review of International Studies (2019) on play and the wargaming renaissance.
Research Interests
- International Relations/Political Theory
- Critical Military Studies
- Critical Methodologies
- Digital/ Immersive Military Training
- Wargames, Videogames, and Simulations
Teaching
Dr Hirst convenes the following modules:
- BA
- 5SSW2060 Global Politics
- 6SSW0018 Violence in Global Politics
PhD Supervision
Dr Hirst happy to supervise PhD candidates in the following areas:
International Relations/Political Theory; Critical Military Studies; Critical Methodologies; Play; Digital/ Immersive Military Training; Wargames, Videogames, and Simulations
Publications
Books
2022 Global Politics: Myths and Mysteries (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press). (with Diego de Merich, Joe Hoover, and Roberto Roccu).
2013 Leo Strauss and the Invasion of Iraq: Encountering the Abyss (Abingdon; New York: Routledge).
Journal Articles
2022 'Wargames Resurgent: The Hyperrealities of Military Gaming from Recruitment to Rehabilitation', International Studies Quarterly 66(3).
2021 '"Videogames Saved My Life": Everyday Resistance and Ludic Recovery among US Military Veterans', International Political Sociology, 15(4).
2020 'States of Play: Evaluating the Renaissance in US Military Wargaming', Critical Military Studies, 8(1).
2019 'Play in(g) International Theory', Review of International Studies, 45(5).
2015 'Derrida and Political Resistance: The Radical Potential of Deconstruction', Globalizations, 12(1). Also published in Chris Rossdale (ed.) Occupying Subjectivity: Being and Becoming Radical in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2018).
2013 'Violence, Self-Authorship, and the "Death of God": The "Traps" of the Messianic and the Tragic', Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 42(1).
2012 'Leo Strauss and International Relations: The Politics of Modernity's Abyss', International Politics, 49(6).
Book Chapters
2010 'Straussianism and Poststructuralism: Two Sides of the Same Coin?', in Tony Burns and James Connelly (eds.) The Legacy of Leo Strauss (Imprint Academic).
2009 'Intellectuals and US Foreign Policy', in Inderjeet Parmer, Mark Legwidge and Linda B Miller (eds.), New Directions in US Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2009).
Symposia and Reviews
2019 'The Anachronism of Hope: The 'to-come' in Post-Horizonal Times', in ‘Disobeying Marx, Disobeying Derrida—Hopes & Risks: A Forum on Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx after 25 Years’, Contexto Internacional (with T. Houseman)
2017 'Review: Conspiracy Theory and American Foreign Policy', Global Discourse, 7(2-3).
2016 'The Legacies and Trajectories of Poststructuralism', European Political Science, 15(4).
Digital Engagement
2019 'Wargaming as an Academic Discipline', PaxSims.
2015 'Pyrrhic Victories: The Endgames of Accelerationist Efficacy' The Disorder of Things (with T. Houseman)
Research
Wargaming Network
The Wargaming Network aims to advance the theory and application of wargaming as a method of inquiry and as a method of learning and teaching.
Research Centre in International Relations (RCIR)
The Research Centre in International Relations conducts research on practices of security and conflict, their transformation, and their social and political implications.
News
King's hosts Wargaming Week with NATO ACT
Wargaming enthusiasts and researchers from around the world gathered at 'Wargaming Week 2023' to promote the expansion and democratisation of wargaming as a...
Security Studies Academics Outline New Wargaming Integrity and Ethics Standards at Top US Conference
The Directors of the Wargaming Network at King's delivered the recommendations at the US Connections Conference.
King's Wargaming Network launches new educational programme
An innovative series of courses seek to build wargaming as an academic discipline.
How are digital technologies transforming military training?
Dr Aggie Hirst has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship and a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant to explore how virtual reality platforms,...
Events
King's NATO ACT Wargaming Week 2024
The Wargaming Network is pleased to invite you to join the Wargaming Week 2024 in partnership with NATO ACT.
Please note: this event has passed.
Demystifying Academic Writing: A WIWIP and New Voices Roundtable
This roundtable seeks to demystify the writing process by drawing upon a diverse expertise and experiences of women academics and communications experts to...
Please note: this event has passed.
The Women of War Studies, Part II
The second instalment of our interactive panel series, The Women of War Studies, featuring three distinguished women faculty members
Please note: this event has passed.
Out of Time - The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality: A Conversation with Dr Rahul Rao
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee welcome Dr Rahul Rao to discuss his new book Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality.
Please note: this event has passed.
The Strategic Use of the “R word” in International Relations: A Conversation with Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa
Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa examines the forms racism takes in International Relations
Please note: this event has passed.
Research
Wargaming Network
The Wargaming Network aims to advance the theory and application of wargaming as a method of inquiry and as a method of learning and teaching.
Research Centre in International Relations (RCIR)
The Research Centre in International Relations conducts research on practices of security and conflict, their transformation, and their social and political implications.
News
King's hosts Wargaming Week with NATO ACT
Wargaming enthusiasts and researchers from around the world gathered at 'Wargaming Week 2023' to promote the expansion and democratisation of wargaming as a...
Security Studies Academics Outline New Wargaming Integrity and Ethics Standards at Top US Conference
The Directors of the Wargaming Network at King's delivered the recommendations at the US Connections Conference.
King's Wargaming Network launches new educational programme
An innovative series of courses seek to build wargaming as an academic discipline.
How are digital technologies transforming military training?
Dr Aggie Hirst has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship and a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant to explore how virtual reality platforms,...
Events
King's NATO ACT Wargaming Week 2024
The Wargaming Network is pleased to invite you to join the Wargaming Week 2024 in partnership with NATO ACT.
Please note: this event has passed.
Demystifying Academic Writing: A WIWIP and New Voices Roundtable
This roundtable seeks to demystify the writing process by drawing upon a diverse expertise and experiences of women academics and communications experts to...
Please note: this event has passed.
The Women of War Studies, Part II
The second instalment of our interactive panel series, The Women of War Studies, featuring three distinguished women faculty members
Please note: this event has passed.
Out of Time - The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality: A Conversation with Dr Rahul Rao
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee welcome Dr Rahul Rao to discuss his new book Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality.
Please note: this event has passed.
The Strategic Use of the “R word” in International Relations: A Conversation with Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa
Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa examines the forms racism takes in International Relations
Please note: this event has passed.