Staff profile

Dr Alex Neads is Associate Professor of International Security in the Durham Global Security Institute (DGSi), and Programme Director for DSGi's postgraduate taught courses. His research explores the shifting construction and diffusion of military power, and its implications for international conflict and security. He is particularly interested in the choices states make about how to build armies, and the linkages between military change and innovation, domestic politics, and the conduct of war. His ongoing research examines the use of security assistance, defence engagement, and other military-to-military training activities as vehicles for (variously) political influence and geopolitical competition, the diffusion of military practice, changing civil-military relations, and the evolving character of conflict.

During the the 2025-26 academic year, Dr Neads was a Jean Monnet Fellow in the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy. He was principal investigator for the British Academy-funded research project 'Protecting democracy or promoting authoritarianism? Understanding the impact of international competition on military assistance in West Africa' from 2023-25. He has conducted research for the Australian Army Research Centre and with the British Army's Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research. His work has been published in Security Studies, Democratization, the European Journal of International Security and the Journal of Strategic Studies, among others.

Dr Neads joined the School of Government and International Affairs as an assistant professor in 2021. Prior to joining the School of Government and International Affairs, Dr Neads held a research post at the University of Bath focusing on the implications of technological change for international security. He was previously based at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom as part of Cranfield University, where he taught extensively overseas.

Dr Neads read for his PhD in Strategy and Security at the University of Exeter. He holds an MPhil in Modern British and European History from the University of Oxford, and a BA (Hons) in History from Royal Holloway, University of London.

• Construction and diffusion of martial power
• Warfare and the history of war
• Security (force) assistance, military capacity building, and defence engagement
• Principal-agent theory and the use of proxies
• Military change and innovation, including defence reform processes
• Sociology of armed forces, especially military cohesion
• Civil-military relations and the politics of defence

Chapter in book

• Tactics and Trade-Offs: The Evolution of Manoeuvre in the British Army
  
  Neads, A., & Galbreath, D. J. (2023). Tactics and Trade-Offs: The Evolution of Manoeuvre in the British Army. In M. Weissmann & N. Nilsson (Eds.), Advanced Land Warfare (pp. 321-352). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192857422.003.0016
• The Totemic Value of Cities
  
  Neads, A. (2022). The Totemic Value of Cities. In L. A. Tumchewics (Ed.), Small Armies, Big Cities: Rethinking Urban Warfare (pp. 57-82). Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Edited book

• Defence Studies
  
  Galbreath, D. J., & Neads, A. (Eds.). (in press). Defence Studies. Routledge.

Journal Article

• Unpicking the martial theory of mind: Time, space, and technology in the conduct of war
  
  Neads, A., & Galbreath, D. J. (2026). Unpicking the martial theory of mind: Time, space, and technology in the conduct of war. European Journal of International Security. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2026.10072
• Evolving towards military innovation: AI and the Australian Army
  
  Neads, A., Farrell, T., & Galbreath, D. J. (2024). Evolving towards military innovation: AI and the Australian Army. Journal of Strategic Studies, 47(5), 669-698. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2023.2200588
• You're in the Army Now: The Politics of Cohesion During Military Integration in Sierra Leone
  
  Neads, A. (2021). You’re in the Army Now: The Politics of Cohesion During Military Integration in Sierra Leone. Security Studies, 29(5), 894-926. https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2020.1859126
• Rival principals and shrewd agents: Military assistance and the diffusion of warfare
  
  Neads, A. (2021). Rival principals and shrewd agents: Military assistance and the diffusion of warfare. European Journal of International Security, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2021.1
• Renegotiating societal-military relations in Pakistan: the case of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
  
  Aslam, W., & Neads, A. (2020). Renegotiating societal-military relations in Pakistan: the case of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement. Democratization, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2020.1816965
• Improvise, adapt and fail to overcome? Capacity building, culture and exogenous change in Sierra Leone
  
  Neads, A. (2017). Improvise, adapt and fail to overcome? Capacity building, culture and exogenous change in Sierra Leone. Journal of Strategic Studies, 42(3-4). https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2017.1405808

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Reforming the Army Reserve: A Response
  
  Neads, A., & Bury, P. (2019, November 7). Reforming the Army Reserve: A Response [Wavell Room].

Report

• The Utility of Light Forces for Security Assistance Activities
  
  Neads, A. (2025). The Utility of Light Forces for Security Assistance Activities. British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research (CHACR).
• The Role of Security Force Assistance in a Competitive World
  
  Neads, A. (2024). The Role of Security Force Assistance in a Competitive World. British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research (CHACR).
• From Tools to Teammates: Human-Machine Teaming and the Future of Command and Control in the Australian Army
  
  Neads, A., Galbreath, D. J., & Farrell, T. (2021). From Tools to Teammates: Human-Machine Teaming and the Future of Command and Control in the Australian Army.