Dr Benedict Wilkinson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Policy Institute at King’s. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman at King’s College London in 2013. Upon completing his PhD, Benedict joined the Policy Institute first as a Research Associate (2013), and then Research Fellow (2014), before being appointed as a Senior Research Fellow in 2015. From 2013 to 2015, Benedict also held a Lectureship in the Defence Studies Department and taught at the Royal College of Defence Studies. Between 2010 and 2011, Benedict worked as Head of Security and Counter-Terrorism at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) where he continues to hold an Associate Fellowship. He became an Associate Fellow of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) in 2013 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2014.

As a Senior Research Fellow, he works on a range of policy areas, but his primary specialism is in defence, security and foreign policy. He recently collaborated with Professor Andrew Dorman and Professor Matt Uttley to produce a major report on the economic value of the domestic defence industry (A Benefit, Not A Burden). Benedict also acts as Departmental lead for the Institute’s slate of Policy Commissions including the forthcoming Citizens’ Data Commission and London Commission. During his time at the Institute, he has contributed to other projects including The Characteristics of High Performing Research Units, UK Election 2015: Setting the Agenda, Issues and Ideas on Higher Education: Who Benefits? Who Pays?.

Benedict has recently finished co-editing a collection of articles on the thought of Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman entitled The Art of Creating Power: Freedman on Strategy due to be released in April 2017. He is also in the process of writing a book on terrorism as a strategy to be published by Hurst and Co in 2018.

He has lectured widely on issues relating to defence, security and foreign policy at a range of prestigious locations, including Cambridge University, the Foreign Office, Scotland Yard, the Royal College of Defence Studies and the Middle East Association. He is also a regular commentator in the national and international media (including as-Sharq al-Awsat, RTE, the Los Angeles Times and Channel Four). In 2015, he gave a live record lecture for BBC Radio Four as part of their Four Thought Series entitled Stories of Terrorism.

In a previous incarnation, Ben studied Classics at Jesus College, Cambridge, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, before taking a second Masters degree in Terrorism Studies at King’s College London. He also holds a Diploma in Arabic from the School of Oriental and African Studies.