Duraid has worked at the Defence Studies Department since September 2017, where he also undertook and completed his PhD in Defence and Security Studies.

His doctorate, entitled “Educating Strategic Leaders”, represented the first global study on the needs and preferences of government elites engaged in strategic-level security and defence education, as well as the impact of their educational, linguistic, professional, cultural and political backgrounds upon these needs and preferences.

Prior to entering academia, Duraid worked in the private sector as an organiser and consultant for defence education and training courses, lectures, conferences and exhibitions, engaged with organisations such as the US Military Training Mission, USAFCENT, Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces, Brazilian Navy, UAE Armed Forces, Nigerian Armed Forces, and the UK MoD.

Research, teaching and public engagement

Duraid’s research revolves around two key themes: security sector responses to environmental insecurity, and the education of defence, development and diplomacy officials. Central to his research is a focus on how to catalyse organisational, behavioural and policy change, and how to integrate greater diversity into security sector thinking.

He teaches a wide range of different subjects across intermediate and advanced officer courses at the UK Defence Academy as well as online courses for the School of Security Studies. He also develops and delivers focused content, modules and courses in the area of environmental and transnational security issues. Duraid currently serves as the convenor of the Security & Defence Policy module for the British Army’s Intermediate Command and Staff Course (Land).

Aside from his research and teaching, Duraid is the founder and co-Director of the Environmental Security Research Group (ESRG) at King’s College London. He is actively involved in security sector environmental and educational reform activities, both individually and as a member of the ESRG and the International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS). This includes serving as a regular contributor to policy development and educational outreach, which has included work with organisations such as the UK Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office, Home Office and FCDO, as well as NATO, the EU Parliament and a wide range of national security and defence colleges worldwide

Research Interests 

• Security and defence education
• Environmental security
• Military sustainability
• Soft power and defence diplomacy
• Behavioural Change and Motivational Theory
• Inter-cultural Communication

Recent Publications

• Cottrell, Linsey, Duraid Jalili & David Burbidge (2024). The OSCE and Military Emissions: Next Steps and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases. In: Lampalzer & Hainzl (eds.) Climate.Changes.Security. – Navigating Climate Change and Security Challenges in the OSCE Region. Schriftenreihe der Landesverteidigungsakademie No. 04/2024.
• Jalili, Duraid (2022). Enhancing Military Sustainability Through Education: Balancing Quick Wins with Systemic Behavioural Change. In: Iacovino, G., Wigell, M. (eds) Innovative Technologies and Renewed Policies for Achieving a Greener Defence. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht.
• Jalili, Duraid (2022) Using Trusted Intermediaries to Communicate Environmental Issues Across Security Forces, Environmental Communication, 16:1, 139-144.
• Leoni, Z. and Duraid Jalili (2020) ‘Londra Mette L’artico Nel Mirino’, Limes, Revista Italiana di Geopolitica: 203-211.
• Jalili, Duraid and Hubert Annen (eds) (2019), Professional Military Education: A Cross-Cultural Survey, Berlin: Peter Lang.
• Syme-Taylor, Victoria and Duraid Jalili (2018), ‘Professional Military Education’, in David J. Galbreath and John R. Deni (eds), Routledge Handbook on Defence Studies, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 98–112.
• Jalili, Duraid (2015), ‘The Use of Professional Military Education as a Soft Power Asset in U.S. International Security Policy’, Strife Journal, Special Issue I: 58–67.

Online articles

• Duraid Jalili (2022) Loud Failures and Quiet Gains in the UK’s “Year of Leadership” on Climate. In: Briffa, H., Devanny, J. & Gearson, J. (eds) The Integrated Review in Context: One year on. London: Centre for Defence Studies.
• Jalili, Duraid (2021) ’The Integrated Review: A New Vision for Climate Security?' Defence-in-Depth, 31 March 2021. Available here.
• Leoni, Zeno and Duraid Jalili (2021) ‘Britain’s Arctic Conundrum (Part 2): Great Powers and Naval Gazing.' Defence-in-Depth, 10 February 2021. Available here.
• Jalili, Duraid and Zeno Leoni (2021) ‘Britain’s Arctic Conundrum (Part 1): Climate Change and Strategic Uncertainty. Defence-in-Depth, 4 February 2021. Available here.
• Jalili, Duraid (2017) Enhancing Strategic Education in the Middle East: Envisioning a Pan-Arab Security and Defence College. The Strategy Bridge, 28 October 2017. Available here.
• Jalili, Duraid (2016) Future Strategic Priorities for Professional Military Education: A Practitioner Perspective. Defence in Depth, 18 April 2016. Available here.
• Jalili, D. (2022) ‘Loud Failures and Quiet Gains in the UK’s “Year of Leadership” on Climate’, in Hillary Briffa, Joe Devanny & John Gearson (eds.) The Integrated Review in Context: One year on. London: Centre for Defence Studies. Available here.

Recent Policy work

• Jalili, Duraid et al. (2024). Written evidence by Members of the Environmental Security Research Group (ESRG) of King’s College London, submitted to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Inquiry on ‘Climate Change and Security’. Published 15 May 2024, House of Commons. [All evidence submissions available here]
• Jalili, Duraid & Maeve Ryan (2024) Strategic impacts of climate change and environmental security on systemic competition. A Report for the Secretary of State’s Office for Net Assessment and Challenge (SONAC). 11 January 2024.
• Jalili, Duraid (2022). Written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Defence Committee Eighth Report of Session 2022–23, Defence and Climate Change, HC Paper 179. Published 18 August 2023, House of Commons. [Final committee report available here]

Recent online media

• 2021 – Climate Change and National Security podcast mini-series, with Professor Matt McDonald. Available here.
• 2021 – Reflections on Climate Change and Security, with ITSS Verona (Part 1 and Part 2)
• 2020 – Understanding the strategic value of executive-level defence and security colleges, School of Security Studies, KCL. Available here.

For a full list of publications see Dr Jalili's PURE Profile