New Books in National Security

• Julian Schmid, "Marvel, DC and US Security: The Superhero Genre and Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century" (Edinburgh UP, 2025)

  Marvel, DC and US Security: The Superhero Genre and Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century (Edinburgh UP, 2025) by Dr. Julian Schmid considers how the long-standing superhero genre has been reinvigorated in the twenty-first century as an interlocutor of security and surveillance discourses following the events of ‘9/11’. While superheroes have a long cultural history, Dr. Schmid argues that their contemporary representations in Hollywood films and TV shows create and deepen specific discourses on security, terrorism and violence. He shows how the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, in particular, are important artefacts that can help us to understand how these discourses are popularised and ultimately normalised.The book offers a rich account of the emergence of superheroes against the backdrop of America’s history since its founding in 1776 and their rise to popularity through comic books since the 1930s. Analysing the connections between superheroes, foreign policy and security from ‘9/11’ to the present, it demonstrates the significance of superheroes for the construction of heroism and security in contemporary times.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

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• Magda Long et. al., "Covert Action: National Approaches to Unacknowledged Intervention (Georgetown UP, 2025)

  Covert action is generally understood as unacknowledged interference by one state in the affairs of another state or non-state actor to affect change. This definition, inspired from the US approach, dominates the debate in intelligence policy and scholarship and provides a prism through which most observers (mis)understand this form of secret statecraft.  Covert Action: National Approaches to Unacknowledged Intervention (Georgetown UP, 2025) moves the intelligence studies and analysis of covert action beyond the Anglosphere. It provides a truly global analysis of covert operations, comparing different states' histories and approaches, acrid five continents. In doing so, it produces a more holistic understanding of the variation in covert action traditions across states and cultures over time. Several key themes emerge from the book. It pays particular attention to the language of covert operations, to the euphemisms used, and to the efforts (where present) to protect decision-makers. Different states, the book show, adopt covert operations for different reasons. Some do not distinguish between domestic and foreign realms. Signalling, strengthening regimes, eliminating real and perceived threats all feature as rationales for covert operations. Similarly, the methods of covert operations vary, from more direct interventions to creating the conditions for others to act. While making clear that all states (democracies and authoritarian regimes) conduct covert operations, the volume highlights differences in the degree of institutionalisation and legalisation of covert operations. It also highlights how different degrees of risk-aversion and the alertness of public opinion can influence policymakers.  The volume brings together an international group of distinguished scholars to examine the history of covert action in twenty countries. Such a breadth and depth of expertise will serve as a foundational study for scholars, students, and policymakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

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• Nina Wilén, "Securitizing the Sahel: Analyzing External Interventions and Their Consequences" (Oxford UP, 2025)

  The Sahel has become a focal point of international security interventions, with external actors providing extensive security force assistance (SFA) to local military, police, and paramilitary forces. Securitizing the Sahel: Analyzing External Interventions and Their Consequences (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Nina Wilen critically examines the rationale, implementation, and consequences of these efforts (2012-2024). With unique access to both military operations and strategy-making in European capitals, the author provides an innovative methodological approach, exclusive material, and a comprehensive perspective. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, including participant observation of military operations and over 100 interviews with policymakers, military personnel, and security practitioners across the Sahel and Europe,this book offers an unprecedented analysis of how SFA has shaped local security dynamics and broader geopolitical competition. The book argues that SFA in the Sahel is driven not just by regional security threats, such as insurgency, violent extremism, and transnational crime, but also by external actors' strategic interests. Through a comparative analysis of bilateral (France, U.S.) and multilateral (EU, UN) initiatives, it demonstrates how SFA has been framed as the primary policy tool to manage instability. Securitizing the Sahel offers both theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding SFA in fragile states. It challenges prevailing frameworks, provides critical insights for policymakers, and highlights the unintended consequences of militarized external assistance in the Sahel and beyond. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

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• Radio ReOrient 13.5: “What Is Wrong with Countering Violent Extremism?,” with John Holmwood, hosted by Claudia Radiven and Saeed Khan

  In this episode, Claudia Radiven and Saeed Khan spoke with Professor John Holmwood about the UK’s Prevent policy, part of the Counter Terror Strategy concerned with radicalisation. We discussed the trajectory of Prevent from its beginnings where it focussed on community cohesion, to changes between 2011 and 2015 after the Trojan Horse Scandal in Birmingham, to the recent review by William Shawcross in 2023. Professor Holmwood is an emeritus professor of Sociology at the University of Nottingham, whose work has focussed on colonialism, modern social theory, religion and schooling. With Therese O’Toole he wrote the book ‘Countering Extremism in British Schools? The Truth about the Birmingham Trojan Horse Affair’ and he has worked with the organisation Prevent Watch, a community initiative supporting those affected by Prevent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

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• John Jackson, "Special Advocates in the Adversarial System" (Routledge, 2020)

  Special Advocates in the Adversarial System (Routledge, 2020) uncovers the little known phenomenon of Special Advocates who represent the best interests of an excluded party in closed trials. Professor John Jackson's empirical analysis draws into question the commitment of legal-systems to long-held principles of adversarial justice, due process and even human rights protections in trials that relate to immigration, national security, civil and criminal proceedings. In its comparative approach, the book tackles issues of accountability and the ethical concerns surrounding the appointment and prevalence of the special advocate system. This book will shock lawyers and scholars alike and is an important contribution to considerations of the administration of justice.  Professor John Jackson is an Emeritus Professor of Comparative Criminal Law and Procedure at The University of Nottingham.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

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