Geraint Hughes
Biographic Data
| ID | 3776891 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Geraint Hughes |
| GIVEN NAMES | Geraint |
| FAMILY NAME | Hughes |
| SIGNATURE | HUGHES G |
| AFFILIATIONS | King's College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6795-7478 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 38 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 84 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1981 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Britain's Cold War Strategy and the Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan
The Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 sparked severe tensions in East-West relations. Great Britain, the United States, and other Western allies sought to counter the Soviet invasion by providing clandestine assistance to the Afghan resistance groups, collectively known as the mujahidin. Looking back, some analysts have argued that this covert action was a short-sighted strategic blunder, but these assertions rely heavi…
Oman’s Transformation after 1970
Scholars and students of the history and politics of the Sultanate of Oman will in all likelihood acknowledge John E. Peterson as the doyen of their field, being active in the study of this Gulf state for just over fifty years. Oman’s Transformation after 1970 is a follow-up to his 2007 book Oman’s Insurgencies, which provided a detailed historical account of the Jebel Akhdar (1955–59) and Dhofar (1963–c.1976) rebellions and the counter-insurgenc…
A ‘Reverse Kissinger’? Why Trump’s Anti-China Rapprochement with Russia Is Likely to Fail
This article critically examines the notion of a prospective US–Russia rapprochement under President Donald Trump, framed by references to a ‘reverse Kissinger’ strategy aimed at breaking the Sino-Russian partnership. Building on Trump’s statements and early policy moves during his second term, the article puts to the test the historical analogy with Richard Nixon’s 1972 opening to China. While diplomatic realignments have historically reshaped t…
Britain and the Dhofar War in Oman, 1963–1976
Guerrillas in our midst
Over the past two decades the historical record of Britain’s wars against a series of insurgencies has experienced a fundamental academic re-assessment, challenging established beliefs about how the British state and its institutions – in particular the British Army – have waged counterinsurgency, and questioning traditional presumptions that Britain fought its insurgent enemies according to a doctrine guided by ‘hearts and minds’ and ‘minimum fo…
Operation Intradon in the Musandam,1970-1971
This article examines Operation Intradon, a covert British counter-insurgency operation in the northern Omani enclave of Musandam. The operation, which ran from December 1970 to March 1971, was driven by the political aim of forcing the Sultan of Oman to take administrative control of this ungoverned enclave. This would then provide protection to the Strait of Hormuz oil route and remove a threat to the process of federating British protected sta…
Courting Sadat
On 18 July 1972 the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat expelled the Soviet military contingent from his country, signalling his intention to re-align Egypt with the Western powers. In response, the British government under its Prime Minister, Edward Heath, sought to encourage Sadat’s defection from the Soviet orbit by supporting arms transfers to Egypt. The Heath government’s approach was influenced both by strategic as well as commercial factors, bu…
War in the Grey Zone
Democratic powers like the US and the UK have extensive experience of operating within the grey zone, and states that practise grey-zone warfare can be countered
Proxy War
Disrupt and deny
The history of covert action is—as Rory Cormac notes in this book—difficult to research and write. Governments of all political hues conceal their involvement in clandestine operations, official papers are heavily weeded before they are released to public scrutiny and the fragmentary evidence on covert operations encourages conspiracy theorizing (p. 242). In Disrupt and deny, Cormac has produced an enthralling, well-written and authoritative hist…
The United Kingdom and International Peacekeeping
The UK has continued to regard itself as a world power despite the reduction in its capability for intervention overseas. Its armed forces pride themselves on professionalism, competence and adaptability. In practice their involvement in peacekeeping operation has been sporadic given different priorities, defence cuts and public unease about military intervention overseas. The UK’s current involvement is minimal and the UK is likely to remain a m…
Blessed are the Peacekeepers
On the morning of 2 November 1956, the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs, Lester Pearson, presented an initiative to the UN General Assembly to resolve the Suez Crisis. The majority
Militias in internal warfare
Although it is a tenet of political science that the modern state possesses a ‘monopoly of violence’, governments have repeatedly used militias outside the formal chain of command of their armed forces when waging counterinsurgency (COIN), and in recent conflicts the USA, UK, and other Western powers have used irregular forces when fighting insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. War-weariness and financial austerity is likely to encourage American…
A Proxy War in Arabia
This article examines a hitherto obscure aspect of the conflict in Dhofar, Oman (1963–76), the Anglo-Omani covert operation (Operation Dhib) to send Mahra tribesmen to conduct cross-border raids into South Yemen during the early 1970s. Using declassified British government papers, this article outlines the origins of Operation Dhib, and the contrasting objectives of the Sultanate of Oman and the United Kingdom in instigating and sponsoring this c…
Soldiers of Misfortune
This article examines the controversial involvement of British mercenaries in the early phases of the Angolan civil war (1975–6), and analyses the effect of their intervention on UK domestic politics and foreign affairs. It concludes that the mercenaries involved - who fought with the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) in January 1976 - were recruited largely as a result of private initiative, and that the available evidence sugge…
Legions of Peace
Over the past 20 years UN peacekeeping has been subjected to continued scholarly and punditry criticism. ‘Blue helmet/beret’ missions have been condemned for being poorly manned and resourced, and
Syria and the perils of proxy warfare
The ongoing civil war in Syria is evolving into a ‘proxy war’, in which both the Baathist regime and its insurgent adversaries are becoming increasingly reliant upon support from external powers. Proxy warfare has a superficial appeal for sponsoring states, as it appears to offer a convenient and risk-free means of fulfilling foreign policy goals, which will not incur the financial and human costs of direct military intervention. Using Syria as a…
Skyjackers, jackals and soldiers
Following the Munich Olympics massacre of September 1972, the British government conducted a series of contingency plans to ensure that Whitehall, police constabularies and the armed forces were prepared for similar crises affecting the UK and its citizens. This article examines the evolution of British counterterrorist planning during the 1970s, which still shapes Whitehall's crisis management procedures for responding to international terrorism…
British Generals in Blair’s Wars
British Generals in Blair’s WarsMajor GeneralJonathan Bailey (Ret.), Colonel Richard Iron (Ret.) and Hew Strachan (Eds)Farnham, Ashgate, 2013, pp. xi + 355, ISBN 9781409437352 (hardback), 978140943
A Fearful Symmetry
The current conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan have provoked an intellectual revolution within the US military, epitomised by the publication of the joint US Army-Marine Corps (USMC) counter-in
A long goodbye
Empires of Mud. Wars and Warlords in Afghanistan
Antonio Giustozzi, (London: C. Hurst, 2009). Pp. vii + 332. No price given (hbk); ISBN 978‐1‐85065‐932‐7. Dr Giustozzi’s name will already be familiar to any scholar or student familiar with the tr
The Cold War and Counter-Insurgency
Due to the American-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, theories surrounding counter-insurgency, or COIN, have aroused intense debate in political, military, and academic circles in the United States, Britain, and other Western countries. This article shows that current thinking about how to fight and defeat insurgent movements is based primarily on Cold War-era theories and conflicts. It traces the evolution in COIN thinking both before a…
Terrorism
Randall D. Law, (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press 2009). Pp.vii+363. £55; ISBN‐13: 978‐0‐7456‐4037‐2 (hb); and £17.99; ISBN‐13: 978‐0‐7456‐4038‐9 (pb). Terrorism remains a contentious and emotive topic
The Insurgencies in Iraq, 2003–2009
Since April 2003 US‐led Coalition forces in Iraq have fought a multifaceted and complex campaign against numerous irregular opponents. The latter’s motivation incorporates a nationalist response to
Legions of Peace
Over the past 20 years UN peacekeeping has been subjected to continued scholarly and punditry criticism. ‘Blue helmet/beret’ missions have been condemned for being poorly manned and resourced, and
Anatomy of a surrogate
This article examines the ways and means in which states employ irregular and indigenous personnel in a counter-insurgency (COIN) or counter-terrorist (CT) campaign, in the historical and contemporary context. The authors clarify the terminology surrounding this neglected area of COIN/CT theory, and identify four types of indigenous assistance – individual actors (trackers, interpreters, informers and agents); home guards and militias; counter-ga…
Syria and the perils of proxy warfare
The ongoing civil war in Syria is evolving into a ‘proxy war’, in which both the Baathist regime and its insurgent adversaries are becoming increasingly reliant upon support from external powers. Proxy warfare has a superficial appeal for sponsoring states, as it appears to offer a convenient and risk-free means of fulfilling foreign policy goals, which will not incur the financial and human costs of direct military intervention. Using Syria as a…
Proxy War
A ‘Model Campaign’ Reappraised
This article examines the Dhofar campaign in Oman (1965–75), and the role Britain played in assisting the Omani royal government against left-wing insurgents. Using existing secondary sources and declassified British government papers, it reassesses the contribution of British military advisers and special forces to the counter-insurgency (COIN) campaign, the balance between military action and civil affairs, the external dimension of the conflic…
A ‘missed opportunity’ for peace? Harold Wilson, British diplomacy, and the sun flower initiative to end the Vietnam war, February 1967
This article examines Harold Wilson's attempts to promote a peaceful solution to the Vietnam war during his first term in office as Britain's Prime Minister, with particular reference to his discussions with the Soviet Premier, Alexei Kosygin, in London in February 1967. Wilson's diplomatic efforts were influenced by his intention to improve Anglo-Soviet relations, and by his belief that the United Kingdom could help develop East-West contacts an…
The Soviet–Afghan War, 1978–1989
The experience of the past years clearly shows that the Afghan problem cannot be solved by military means only. Within the framework of the old thinking, old approaches we are doomed to [a] negativ
Disrupt and deny
The history of covert action is—as Rory Cormac notes in this book—difficult to research and write. Governments of all political hues conceal their involvement in clandestine operations, official papers are heavily weeded before they are released to public scrutiny and the fragmentary evidence on covert operations encourages conspiracy theorizing (p. 242). In Disrupt and deny, Cormac has produced an enthralling, well-written and authoritative hist…
Militias in internal warfare
Although it is a tenet of political science that the modern state possesses a ‘monopoly of violence’, governments have repeatedly used militias outside the formal chain of command of their armed forces when waging counterinsurgency (COIN), and in recent conflicts the USA, UK, and other Western powers have used irregular forces when fighting insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. War-weariness and financial austerity is likely to encourage American…
Soldiers of Misfortune
This article examines the controversial involvement of British mercenaries in the early phases of the Angolan civil war (1975–6), and analyses the effect of their intervention on UK domestic politics and foreign affairs. It concludes that the mercenaries involved - who fought with the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) in January 1976 - were recruited largely as a result of private initiative, and that the available evidence sugge…
Operation Intradon in the Musandam,1970-1971
This article examines Operation Intradon, a covert British counter-insurgency operation in the northern Omani enclave of Musandam. The operation, which ran from December 1970 to March 1971, was driven by the political aim of forcing the Sultan of Oman to take administrative control of this ungoverned enclave. This would then provide protection to the Strait of Hormuz oil route and remove a threat to the process of federating British protected sta…
War in the Grey Zone
Democratic powers like the US and the UK have extensive experience of operating within the grey zone, and states that practise grey-zone warfare can be countered
A Proxy War in Arabia
This article examines a hitherto obscure aspect of the conflict in Dhofar, Oman (1963–76), the Anglo-Omani covert operation (Operation Dhib) to send Mahra tribesmen to conduct cross-border raids into South Yemen during the early 1970s. Using declassified British government papers, this article outlines the origins of Operation Dhib, and the contrasting objectives of the Sultanate of Oman and the United Kingdom in instigating and sponsoring this c…
Skyjackers, jackals and soldiers
Following the Munich Olympics massacre of September 1972, the British government conducted a series of contingency plans to ensure that Whitehall, police constabularies and the armed forces were prepared for similar crises affecting the UK and its citizens. This article examines the evolution of British counterterrorist planning during the 1970s, which still shapes Whitehall's crisis management procedures for responding to international terrorism…
The Insurgencies in Iraq, 2003–2009
Since April 2003 US‐led Coalition forces in Iraq have fought a multifaceted and complex campaign against numerous irregular opponents. The latter’s motivation incorporates a nationalist response to
Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973
This article analyzes the impact on transatlantic relations of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, focusing on the discrepancy between U.S. and British views of Middle Eastern security before and during the conflict. Despite the institutional factors shaping the U.S.-British “special relationship” and the much greater power of the United States compared to Britain, British policy during the 1973 war was sharply at odds with U.S. policy. This artic…
Giving the Russians a Bloody Nose’
On 24 September 1971 the British government expelled 105 Soviet diplomats and trade delegation officials resident in the UK. This was a response to the expansion of Soviet espionage in Britain during the 1960s, and to Moscow's refusal to respond to London's protests on this issue. This article examines the impact of the espionage problem on Anglo-Soviet relations during this period, and analyzes the reasons behind the expulsions (known as Operati…
A ‘Post-war’ War
This article examines the history of Operation Masterdom, the occupation of Southern-Indochina by British–Indian forces commanded by Major-General Douglas Gracey during the autumn and winter of 1945–46. It summarises the factors which led to the occupation force's embroilment in the struggle between the French and the Viet Minh, and compares and contrasts Masterdom with the present political and strategic problems faced by the US-led coalition in…
Inflation and electoral competition
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the notion that liberal democracies are more prone to inflation than other types of regime. In this section we establish the context of this research by briefly rehearsing some of the main themes in the literature on the political economy of inflation. Sections II and III deal with the analytical methods employed in this paper and the results of these analyses respectively. In our Conclusion we re-exami…
A ‘missed opportunity’ for peace? Harold Wilson, British diplomacy, and the sun flower initiative to end the Vietnam war, February 1967
This article examines Harold Wilson's attempts to promote a peaceful solution to the Vietnam war during his first term in office as Britain's Prime Minister, with particular reference to his discussions with the Soviet Premier, Alexei Kosygin, in London in February 1967. Wilson's diplomatic efforts were influenced by his intention to improve Anglo-Soviet relations, and by his belief that the United Kingdom could help develop East-West contacts an…
British policy towards Eastern Europe and the impact of the ‘Prague Spring’, 1964–68
This article analyzes Britain's role in East–West diplomacy during the mid-to-late 1960s, with particular reference to London's response to the Czechoslovak communist regime's abortive efforts at internal liberalization in 1968. British officials presumed that the USSR's East European clients were undergoing a process of internal ‘evolution’, and were adopting more autonomous domestic policies. Like other Western countries, Britain responded to t…
Palgrave Advances in Cold War History
This innovative collection deals with the ideational, cultural, political and strategic aspects of the multifaceted Cold War. Drawing on the work of numerous established scholars and experts, this vol
Giving the Russians a Bloody Nose’
On 24 September 1971 the British government expelled 105 Soviet diplomats and trade delegation officials resident in the UK. This was a response to the expansion of Soviet espionage in Britain during the 1960s, and to Moscow's refusal to respond to London's protests on this issue. This article examines the impact of the espionage problem on Anglo-Soviet relations during this period, and analyzes the reasons behind the expulsions (known as Operati…
A ‘Post-war’ War
This article examines the history of Operation Masterdom, the occupation of Southern-Indochina by British–Indian forces commanded by Major-General Douglas Gracey during the autumn and winter of 1945–46. It summarises the factors which led to the occupation force's embroilment in the struggle between the French and the Viet Minh, and compares and contrasts Masterdom with the present political and strategic problems faced by the US-led coalition in…
Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973
This article analyzes the impact on transatlantic relations of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, focusing on the discrepancy between U.S. and British views of Middle Eastern security before and during the conflict. Despite the institutional factors shaping the U.S.-British “special relationship” and the much greater power of the United States compared to Britain, British policy during the 1973 war was sharply at odds with U.S. policy. This artic…
The Soviet–Afghan War, 1978–1989
The experience of the past years clearly shows that the Afghan problem cannot be solved by military means only. Within the framework of the old thinking, old approaches we are doomed to [a] negativ
Harold Wilson's Cold War
Anatomy of a surrogate
This article examines the ways and means in which states employ irregular and indigenous personnel in a counter-insurgency (COIN) or counter-terrorist (CT) campaign, in the historical and contemporary context. The authors clarify the terminology surrounding this neglected area of COIN/CT theory, and identify four types of indigenous assistance – individual actors (trackers, interpreters, informers and agents); home guards and militias; counter-ga…
A ‘Model Campaign’ Reappraised
This article examines the Dhofar campaign in Oman (1965–75), and the role Britain played in assisting the Omani royal government against left-wing insurgents. Using existing secondary sources and declassified British government papers, it reassesses the contribution of British military advisers and special forces to the counter-insurgency (COIN) campaign, the balance between military action and civil affairs, the external dimension of the conflic…
Terrorism
Randall D. Law, (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press 2009). Pp.vii+363. £55; ISBN‐13: 978‐0‐7456‐4037‐2 (hb); and £17.99; ISBN‐13: 978‐0‐7456‐4038‐9 (pb). Terrorism remains a contentious and emotive topic
The Insurgencies in Iraq, 2003–2009
Since April 2003 US‐led Coalition forces in Iraq have fought a multifaceted and complex campaign against numerous irregular opponents. The latter’s motivation incorporates a nationalist response to
The Wildest Province
Roderick Bailey, (London: Vintage 2009) Pp.405. £9.99 (pb) ISBN‐13 978‐184‐595071‐2. While browsing through this book, the reviewer was amused to see a photograph which looked like a still shot fro
The use of undercover military units in counter-terrorist operations
This article examines the use of specialised plain-clothes military units in counter-terrorism, concentrating on examples involving liberal-democratic states. It analyses the benefits and problems arising from clandestine military activity, focusing in particular on British army units (notably 14 Intelligence Company and the Force Research Unit in Northern Ireland). The article concludes by arguing that such formations have a clear utility – nota…
Empires of Mud. Wars and Warlords in Afghanistan
Antonio Giustozzi, (London: C. Hurst, 2009). Pp. vii + 332. No price given (hbk); ISBN 978‐1‐85065‐932‐7. Dr Giustozzi’s name will already be familiar to any scholar or student familiar with the tr
The Cold War and Counter-Insurgency
Due to the American-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, theories surrounding counter-insurgency, or COIN, have aroused intense debate in political, military, and academic circles in the United States, Britain, and other Western countries. This article shows that current thinking about how to fight and defeat insurgent movements is based primarily on Cold War-era theories and conflicts. It traces the evolution in COIN thinking both before a…
A long goodbye
British Generals in Blair’s Wars
British Generals in Blair’s WarsMajor GeneralJonathan Bailey (Ret.), Colonel Richard Iron (Ret.) and Hew Strachan (Eds)Farnham, Ashgate, 2013, pp. xi + 355, ISBN 9781409437352 (hardback), 978140943
A Fearful Symmetry
The current conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan have provoked an intellectual revolution within the US military, epitomised by the publication of the joint US Army-Marine Corps (USMC) counter-in
Soldiers of Misfortune
This article examines the controversial involvement of British mercenaries in the early phases of the Angolan civil war (1975–6), and analyses the effect of their intervention on UK domestic politics and foreign affairs. It concludes that the mercenaries involved - who fought with the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) in January 1976 - were recruited largely as a result of private initiative, and that the available evidence sugge…
Legions of Peace
Over the past 20 years UN peacekeeping has been subjected to continued scholarly and punditry criticism. ‘Blue helmet/beret’ missions have been condemned for being poorly manned and resourced, and
Syria and the perils of proxy warfare
The ongoing civil war in Syria is evolving into a ‘proxy war’, in which both the Baathist regime and its insurgent adversaries are becoming increasingly reliant upon support from external powers. Proxy warfare has a superficial appeal for sponsoring states, as it appears to offer a convenient and risk-free means of fulfilling foreign policy goals, which will not incur the financial and human costs of direct military intervention. Using Syria as a…
Skyjackers, jackals and soldiers
Following the Munich Olympics massacre of September 1972, the British government conducted a series of contingency plans to ensure that Whitehall, police constabularies and the armed forces were prepared for similar crises affecting the UK and its citizens. This article examines the evolution of British counterterrorist planning during the 1970s, which still shapes Whitehall's crisis management procedures for responding to international terrorism…
A Proxy War in Arabia
This article examines a hitherto obscure aspect of the conflict in Dhofar, Oman (1963–76), the Anglo-Omani covert operation (Operation Dhib) to send Mahra tribesmen to conduct cross-border raids into South Yemen during the early 1970s. Using declassified British government papers, this article outlines the origins of Operation Dhib, and the contrasting objectives of the Sultanate of Oman and the United Kingdom in instigating and sponsoring this c…
Political science (35 works) · Law (30 works) · Law (22 works) · Politics (22 works) · History (20 works) · Military History and Strategy (16 works) · Political economy (14 works) · History (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Economic history (11 works)