Evening Event: 'Contemporary Geopolitical Challenges, International Law and the role of Armed Forces' - Captain Ian Park, Royal Navy, UK Ministry of Defence

This is an in-person event only.

Lecture summary: The world is facing profound geopolitical challenges.  Across the globe wars rage, competition intensifies and tensions rise.  In our interconnected world few remain unaffected by conflict and aggression.  In this talk Ian Park seeks to identify the greatest threats to global security and considers the role international law and armed forces might play in mitigating this threat.

Ian Park is a Captain in the Royal Navy and a barrister. He has served in seven ships and deployed worldwide in support of the Royal Navy’s contribution to defence. He has also deployed as a legal adviser on operations to Afghanistan and, on many occasions, to the Middle East. Ian is, or has been, a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School, a Hudson Fellow at Oxford University, a First Sea Lord’s Fellow, and a Freeman of the City of London. He is a graduate of St. John’s College, Cambridge, has a doctorate in international law from Balliol College, Oxford and has lectured at Harvard Law School, The National University of Singapore, The Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing, Hanoi University, and Freiburg University amongst other institutions. Ian has written or contributed to four books including a monograph The Right to Life in Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2018) and currently teaches part-time at Yale Law School and serves in the UK Ministry of Defence.