A Conversation with Simon Waldman

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We spoke with Dr Simon Waldman, module teacher on the Sanctions, Strategy and Statecraft module of our Internation Affairs MSc. Here’s what he said about teaching on the programme and what students can hope to learn.

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My name is Simon Waldman. I’ve been at King’s for two decades now, having completed both my MA and PhD at KCL. After my studies at King’s, I managed to continue on as a lecturer in Middle Eastern studies where I taught the history of the Arab-Israeli Conflict as well as state building and leadership in the contemporary Middle East. I’m the author of two books, Anglo-American Diplomacy and the Palestinian Refugee Problem and The New Turkey and its Discontents, as well as many commentaries for the international media. I left King’s in 2017 to spend a few years working at think-tanks in London and Istanbul, an experience which I enjoyed very much. But I missed teaching, so it was fantastic that I joined the Defence Studies Department in 2023 to work as a tutor on the International Affairs programme.

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One of my best experiences was the MA I did at King’s College Lonon all those years ago. The different theories, ideas, and approaches that I learned about in the seminars and were featured in the assigned readings were wonderful to discover, and then I got the added benefit of discussing them with my peers. We studied the multiple ways in which states and international institutions engage and interact. For me, I was interested in peace making and diplomacy. I wanted to investigate under what conditions can warring parties stop fighting and what can third parties do to help broker peace? What can we learn from past efforts? If they worked, why were they successful. If they failed, why did they go wrong?

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I enjoy teaching Sanctions, Strategy and Statecraft. Sanctions are a tool of foreign policy that are increasingly employed; however, they are considerably less studied than war or the threat of war. However, sanctions can have a crippling effect on nations and individuals, and the way in which they are used has evolved over time. It is very important that students understand the nature of sanctions in order to appreciate their purpose, function, effectiveness, and utility. In doing so, students will have a more complete understanding of the nature of international relations.

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What is great about this module is how it engages with both scholarship and application. It charts the path between the theoretical and the practical. Sure, scholarly theories and concepts are explored, but this is not done in the abstract. Instead, we use actual examples that are happening today as well as case studies from history. We draw from academic research to examine the tools available for foreign policy practitioners and the effectiveness of sanctions as a policy tool in the real world.

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In this module students get the chance to write their own policy memo, and in the webinars and unit exercises students are given scenarios which they must explain and offer solutions. In doing so, students get to be as close as possible to actuality. Consider it practice inside of the ivory tower for the real world that awaits outside and applicable in multiple sectors and different situations.

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We have students who correctly see this programme as a means in which to advance their existing career paths while others consider it as a way to diversify their employment options. They come from all kinds of sectors, from financial services to the military, too many sectors to list. Other students see this programme as a pathway for PhD study which is also a very viable option. But what links all of our students is a keen curiosity about the world around them and a wish, a desire, to learn more about the international and to be able to test their ideas with other like-minded individuals.

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Think about time management and organisation so that you will get the most out of your studies. In regards to applying, it is effective to tell your story when explaining your reasons for selecting the programme – how and why you decided to apply? Try to link the personal, professional, and intellectual so we get the full picture of you.