Biography
Dr Kevin Blachford is a Lecturer in Defence Studies. His research interests include IR theory, diplomacy and foreign policy analysis. He completed his PhD in 2017 and has previously taught at the Estonian School of Diplomacy, the Baltic Defence College, and the University of Bristol. He is currently the programme director for the ACSC Reserves course and the module lead for strategy and defence policy.
Research Interests
- Challenges to International Order
- International Relations Theory
- Historical IR
Dr Kevin Blachford’s latest work is a book for Oxford University Press titled, ‘World Order in Late Antiquity: The Two Eyes Rivalry of Byzantium and Sasanian Persia’. This book offers a rare IR view of antiquity and examines the imperial rivalry between the ancient Romans and Persia. This great power competition saw two rivals contest a buffer zone in Mesopotamia using proxies and clients in an imperial struggle for hegemony.
He has also published papers on a range of topics including grand strategy, international order and the balance of power. His work has appeared in outlets such as War on the Rocks, the National Interest, the American Conservative, and Defence in Depth.
Publications
World Order in Late Antiquity: The 'Two Eyes' Rivalry of Byzantium and Sasanian Persia, Oxford University Press (2024). https://global.oup.com/academic/product/world-order-in-late-antiquity-9780198882138?q=blachford&lang=en&cc=gb
‘The balance of power and the power struggles of the polis’, Journal of International Political Theory, 17:3, (2021), pp.429-447. https://doi.org/10.1177/1755088220942876
‘An Alternative to The Thucydides Trap: The Buffer Zone of Byzantium and Sasanian Persia’, International History Review, 44:5, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2021.2005660
‘From Thucydides to 1648: the “Missing” Years in IR and the Missing Voices in World History’, International Studies Perspectives, 22:4, (2021), 495-508. https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekaa012
‘Revisiting the Expansion Thesis: International Society and the Role of the Dutch East India Company as a Merchant Empire’, European Journal of International Relations, 26:4, (2020), 1230–1248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066120932300
Teaching
- Defence Diplomacy
- Strategy and Defence Policy
- Conflict in the International System