Army Secretariat

Army Headquarters
IDL 24 Blenheim Building
Marlborough Lines
Andover
Hampshire, SP11 8HJ
United Kingdom

Ref: FOI2019/01764 E-mail: ArmySec-Group@mod.gov.uk

Website: www.army.mod.uk

Name: Daniel Selwyn 5 April 2019

Email: 656546@soas.ac.uk

Dear Mr Selwyn,

Thank you for your email of 3 January in which you requested the following information:

1.) The total amount, in pounds sterling, that the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit has paid in funds,
including, but not limited to, philanthropic gifts or fees for briefing, training, consultancy, analysis or
research, to the School of Oriental and African Studies in the last eight financial years. Details,
including the purpose of the funds, should be broken down, year-by-year.
2.) If SOAS has provided briefing, consultancy, training, analysis or research to the Defence Cultural
Specialist Unit at any time during the last five years, please provide:
(1) copies of the agendas or programmes for the sessions, including topics discussed and the
names and departments of SOAS staff providing the briefings, and
(2) copies of the briefing or research documents, including Powerpoint presentations,
memoranda and research papers, presented by SOAS staff to the Defence Cultural Specialist
Unit.

I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) 2000.

A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I can
confirm that some/ the information in scope of your request is held and is below and attached:

1.) The total amount, in pounds sterling, that the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit has paid in funds,
including, but not limited to, philanthropic gifts or fees for briefing, training, consultancy, analysis or
research, to the School of Oriental and African Studies in the last eight financial years. Details,
including the purpose of the funds, should be broken down, year-by-year.

The Defence Cultural Specialist Unit (DCSU) delivers Regional Studies Weeks (RSW) which are
designed and delivered on our behalf by SOAS.
Information on payments from the DCSU to SOAS for RSWs only extend back to May 2017. Costs
for the delivery of RSWs to date are:

£49,500 May 2017

£49,500 October 2017
£49,500 February 2018
£50,000 July 2018
£50,000 November 2018
£62,000 December 2018

The last RSW was delivered in February 2019, but the Department is not yet able to provide a final
cost figure for this event.
2.) If SOAS has provided briefing, consultancy, training, analysis or research to the Defence Cultural
Specialist Unit at any time during the last five years, please provide:

(1) copies of the agendas or programmes for the sessions, including topics discussed and the
names and departments of SOAS staff providing the briefings, and

Please find attached details of previous RSWs held by the MOD as requested above.

(2) copies of the briefing or research documents, including Powerpoint presentations,

memoranda and research papers, presented by SOAS staff to the Defence Cultural Specialist
Unit.

The MOD does not hold information relevant to this request. If you still wish to see these
documents produced by SOAS, it may be possible to access them by contacting the
university directly, or it may be in the public domain as peer-reviewed material.

If you have any queries regarding the content of this letter, please contact this office in the first
instance. Following this, if you wish to complain about the handling of your request, or the content
of this response, you can request an independent internal review by contacting the Information
Rights Compliance team, Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail CIO-
FOI-IR@mod.uk). Please note that any request for an internal review should be made within 40
working days of the date of this response.

If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint directly to the
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally investigate your case until the
MOD internal review process has been completed. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be
found on the Commissioner's website at https://ico.org.uk/.

Yours sincerely,

Army Secretariat
 Eastern Europe and Central Asia Training Programme
Ministry of Defence 19 February – 23 February 2018

Day Themes Time Session Title Academic Lead

19/02/18 Russia 09:30 – 10:30 Course Introduction Lilit Gevorgyan
Historical Insight Modern history of Russia: 19-21st century Senior country risk analyst and
10:30 - 10:50 Break economist, IHS Markit
Cultural Issues 10:50 – 12:00 Changing borders, evolving identities and diaspora
Janet Hartley
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Professor of International History
London School of Economics and
Political Science
Economic and 13:00 – 14:30 • From Soviet economy to oligarchy
demographic issues • Russia’s demography and its national security
implications
Discussion
14:30 – 15:00 Break Lilit Gevorgyan
Domestic Politics 15:00 – 16:30 Domestic political landscape Senior economist and country risk
• Political system in modern Russia analyst, IHS Markit
• Institutional assessment
• Key players and influence groups
Break at 14:30 Scenarios on domestic political developments

16:30 – 17:00 Discussion

20/02/18 Central Asia 09:30 – 10:30 Overview of the region: Filippo Costa Buranelli
focus on relations History, political and economic system Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
with Afghanistan 10:30 - 10:50 Break School of International Relations ,
 and Pakistan 10:50 – 12:00 Linguistic and cultural dynamics across the region University of St Andrews
Central Asia – Russia - Afghanistan and Pakistan
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:30 Social Issues, Ethnicity and Migration in Central Asia
14:30 – 15:00 Break
15:00 - 16:30 Key security and foreign policy challenges
16:30 – 17:00 Discussion
21/02/18 Eastern Europe: 09:30 – 12:00 • Recent historical regional overview
focus on the Balkans Break at 10:30 • Post-Soviet political and military integration with the James Gow
West Professor at Security
• Key risks of inter-ethnic hostility Department of War Studies
• Russian influence in the region King's College London
Discussion
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
South Caucasus: 13:00 - 16:30 • Historical, religious, linguistic overview of the region
• Ethnic identities and conflicts:
• Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh Lilit Gevorgyan
• Current status and mediation Senior country risk analyst and
• British interests economist, IHS Markit
Discussion
Break at 14:30 Next flashpoint?
16:30 – 17:00 Discussion
22/02/18 Eastern Europe: 09:30 – 12:00 • Overview of the region
focus on Baltics Break at 10:30 • Borders, identities and language
Mart Kuldkepp
• Insight into recent history
Lecturer in Contemporary
• Current political, foreign policy and military trends
Scandinavian History at University
• Russian threat assessment College London
Discussion
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
 Russian Foreign 13:00 - 16:30 Russian foreign policy: evolving agenda and toolkit
Policy • Evolution of Russia’s foreign policy objectives since 1991
Lilit Gevorgyan
Break at 14:30 • Key methods of advancing foreign policy objectives
Senior country risk
• Spelling out Russian foreign policy objectives
analyst and economist, IHS Markit
16:30 – 17:00 Discussion: confrontation or cooperation?
23/2/18 Implications for UK 09:30 – 13:00 Global scenarios on Russian foreign policy and direct Lilit Gevorgyan
military mission Break at 11:00 implications for MOD mission Senior country risk analyst and
- 11:20 economist, IHS Markit
Discussion on key takeaways for MOD personnel

0930 – 1200 Lectures

1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1630 Lectures
1630 – 1700 Opportunity for discussion and questions
 Middle East and North Africa Training Programme
Ministry of Defence 19 February – 23 February 2017

Day Themes Time Session Title Academic Lead

19/02/18 General 09:30 – 10:30 Course Introduction Professor Gilbert Achcar
Themes Modern History of the Middle East & North Africa 19th-21st centuries Professor of Development Studies
10:30 – 10:50 Break and International Relations
10:50 – 12:00 Islamic Fundamentalism, Arab (and other) Nationalism SOAS, University of London
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 - 14:30 The Israel-Palestine Conflict
14:30– 15:00 Break
15:30 – 16:30 Oil and US hegemony
16:30 – 17:00 Questions and discussion
20/02/18 General 09:30 – 12:00 Political Economy of Middle East and North Africa Professor Gilbert Achcar
Themes Break from • States and Economic Development Professor of Development Studies
10:30 – 10:50) • Background to the ‘Arab Spring’ and International Relations
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch SOAS, University of London
13:00 - 14:30 The Arab Uprising: Revolution and Counter-Revolution
14:30 – 15:00 Break
15:00– 16:30 Egypt – Crisis, Army, Muslim Brotherhood
16:30 – 17:00 Questions and discussion
21/02/18 Turkey & the 09:30 – 10:30 Historical Overview, Politics, Economics Mr Gamon McLellan
Kurdish 10:30 – 10:50 Break Teaching Fellow at SOAS,
question 10:50 – 12:00 Foreign and Security Policy, and Kurdish Question formerly BBC Turkish Service
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Head
 Iran 13:00 - 14:30 Historical Overview, Politics, Economics and Social Issues Dr Alam Saleh
14:30 – 15:00 Break Lecturer in Middle Eastern Politics
15:00 – 16:30 Iran: Nuclear Issue, IRGC and Regional Politics Department of Politics,
16:30 – 17:00 Questions and discussion Philosophy and Religion
Lancaster University
22/02/18 The Mashreq 09:30 – 10:30 Overview of the Region and its History Dr Lina Khatib
[Eastern Arab 10:30 – 10:50 Break Head of the Middle East and
world – Arab 10:50 – 12:00 Jordan and Lebanon – Politics, Security, and the Refugee Influx North Africa Programme at
Middle East] 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Chatham House
13:00 - 14:30 Iraq – Insurgency and Civil War
14:30 – 15:00 Break
15:00 – 16:30 Syria – Uprising to Civil War
16:30 – 17:00 Questions and discussion
23/02/18 GCC and 09:30 – 10:30 GCC, Saudi kingdom Ms Helen Lackner
Yemen 10:30 – 10:50 Break Research Associate, London
10:50 – 11:50 Yemen – Uprising to Civil War Middle East Institute, SOAS
11:50 – 12:00 Break
12:00 – 13:00 Yemen conflict scenario

0930 – 1200 Lectures

1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1630 Lectures
1630 – 1700 Opportunity for discussion and questions
 Sub Saharan Africa Training Programme
Ministry of Defence 19 February – 23 February 2018 – RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire

Day Themes Time Session Title Academic Lead

19/02/18 General 09:30– Course Introduction
themes 10:30 African History from 19-21st Century
Dr Alastair Fraser
10:30 – Break Department of Politics and
10:50 International Studies
10:50 – Impact of geography, climate and environment SOAS University of London
12:00
12:00 – Lunch
13:00
Cultural Issues 13:00 – Political Economy of development in Africa
14:30
14:30 – Break Dr Matteo Rizzo
15:00 Department of Development
Studies
Economic 15:00 – Understanding African Leaders and Hierarchies SOAS University of London
Issues 16:30
16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
20/02/18 East Africa 09:30 – Overview of the region and its history
and the Horn 10:30
10:30 – Break
Prof Christopher Clapham
10:50
 10:50 – Key political developments and political faultlines Centre of African Studies,
12:00 Cambridge University
12:00 – Lunch
13:00
East Africa 13:00 – Rural urban-relations
and the Horn 14:30
14:30 – Break Dr Chege Githoria
15:00 Senior Lecturer in Swahili
15:00 – Migration, refugees and diaspora populations SOAS University of London
16:30
16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
21/02/18 West Africa 09:30 – Overview of the region and its history
(including 10:30
Nigeria, Mali) 10:30 – Break
Professor Jeremy Keenan
10:50
SOAS Emeritus Professor in
10:50 – Key political developments and political faultlines
Anthropology
12:00
12:00 – Lunch
13:00
13:00 – Sources of identity: kinship, race, ethnicity and nationalism in West
14:30 Africa
Professor Friederike Luepke
14:30 – Break
Professor of Language
15:00
Documentation and Description
15:00 – Linguistic and cultural dynamics across the region
SOAS University of London
16.30
16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
22/02/18 Demographic 09:30 – Rural urban-relations
Issues 10:30
 10:30 – Break Dr Laura Hammond
10:50 Reader in Development Studies
10:50 – Migration, refugees and diaspora populations SOAS University of London
12:00

12:00 – Lunch
13:00
Political Issues 13:00– Political systems and institutions
14:30 Corruption, patronage and clientelism
Dr Tom Young
14:30– Break
Department of Politics and
15:00
International Studies
15:00 – Africa’s external relations
SOAS University of London
16.30
16:30 – Questions and discussions
17:00
23/02/18 So what does 09:30 – Practical Exercises involving issues likely to be encountered by MOD
it mean for 13:00 staff Prof Christopher Clapham
the military? Break at Centre of African Studies,
11:00 - Cambridge University
11:20

0930 – 1200 Lectures

1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1630 Lectures
1630 – 1700 Opportunity for discussion and questions
 Middle East Training Programme
Ministry of Defence 11-15 February

Day Themes Time Session Title Academic Lead

11/02/19 General 09:30 – 10:30 Course Introduction Professor Gilbert Achcar
Themes Modern History of the Middle East & North Africa Professor of Development Studies
10:30 – 10:50 Break and International Relations
10:50 – 12:00 Israel-Palestine Conflict SOAS University of London
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:30 Islamic Fundamentalism, Arab Nationalism
14:30 – 15:00 Break
15:00 – 16:30 Oil and US hegemony: Cold War to New Cold War
16:30 – 17:00 Further questions and discussion
12/02/19 General 09:30 – 12:00 Political Economy of Middle East and North Africa Professor Gilbert Achcar
Themes Break: 10:30 – 10:50 • States and Economic Development Professor of Development Studies
• Background to the Arab Spring and International Relations
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch SOAS University of London
13:00 – 14:30 Arab Uprising: Revolution and Counter-Revolution
14:30 – 15:00 Break
15:00 – 16:30 Egypt – Crisis, Army, Muslim Brotherhood
16:30 – 17:00 Further questions and discussion
13/02/19 Gulf 09:30 – 10:30 Overview of the Arabian Peninsula and its History Ms Helen Lackner
Cooperation 10:30 – 10:50 Break Research Associate, London
Council (GCC) 10:50 – 12:00 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Society, Economics and Politics Middle East Institute, SOAS
and Yemen
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:00 Regional Dynamics: Current and Potential Crises
14:00 – 14:15 Break
14:15 – 15:15 Yemen – Uprising to Civil War
15:15 – 15:30 Break
15:300 – 17:00 Yemen – Conflict Scenario
14/02/19 The Mashreq 09:30 – 10:30 Overview of the Region and its History Dr Lina Khatib
[Eastern Arab 10:30 – 10:50 Break Head of the Middle East and
world – Arab 10:50 – 12:00 Jordan and Lebanon – Politics, Security, and the Refugee Influx North Africa Programme at
Middle East] Chatham House
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 - 14:30 Iraq – Insurgency and Civil War
14:30 – 15:00 Break
15:00 – 16:30 Syria – Uprising to Civil War
16:30 – 17:00 Further questions and discussion
15/02/19 Iran 09:30 – 10:30 Historical Overview, Politics, Economics and Social Issues Dr Alam Saleh
10:30 – 10:50 Break Lecturer in Middle Eastern Politics
10:50 – 13:00 Iran: Nuclear Issue, IRGC and Regional Politics Lancaster University

90-minute sessions have a 10-minute break in the middle (40+10+40)

0930 – 1200 Lectures

1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1630 Lectures
1630 – 1700 Opportunity for further discussion and questions
about the day’s sessions
 Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia Training Programme
Ministry of Defence 11-15 Febraury

Day Themes Time Session Title Academic Lead

11/02/19 Russia 09:30 – 10:30 Course Introduction Lilit Gevorgyan
Historical Insight Modern history of Russia: 19-21st century Senior country risk analyst and
10:30 - 10:50 Break economist, IHS Markit
Cultural Issues 10:50 – 12:00 Changing borders, evolving identities and diaspora
Janet Hartley
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Professor of International
History
London School of Economics and
Political Science
Economic and 13:00 – 14:30 • From Soviet economy to oligarchy
demographic issues • Russia’s demography and its national security
implications
Discussion
14:30 – 15:00 Break Lilit Gevorgyan
Domestic Politics 15:00 – 16:30 Domestic political landscape Senior economist and country
Break at • Political system in modern Russia risk analyst, IHS Markit
14:30 • Institutional assessment
• Key players and influence groups
Scenarios on domestic political developments

16:30 – 17:00 Discussion

12/02/19 Russian Foreign 09:30 – 12:00 • Historical, religious, linguistic overview of the region
Policy Break at • Ethnic identities and conflicts:
10:30 • Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh
• Current status of the conflicts, mediation efforts
• Revolutions, geopolitics, risk of war, British interests
Discussion Lilit Gevorgyan
South Caucasus 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Senior country risk
13:00 - 16:30 Russian foreign policy: evolving agenda and toolkit analyst and economist, IHS
Markit
• Evolution of Russia’s foreign policy objectives since 1991
Break at • Key methods of advancing foreign policy objectives
14:30 • Spelling out Russian foreign policy objectives

16:30 – 17:00 Discussion: confrontation or cooperation?

13/02/19 Eastern Europe: 09:30 – 12:00 • Recent historical/regional overview: Yugoslavia -
focus on the Break at identity, language, religion
Balkans 10:30 • Yugoslavia's disintegration and the wars of Yugoslav
succession
• The Former Yugoslavia post-Dayton (including
political and military integration with the West)
Discussion Kenneth Morrison
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Professor of Modern Southeast
13:00 - 16:30 • The Western Balkans: contemporary developments, European History, De Montfort
Break at security risks and challenges University & LSE
14:30 • Residual inter-ethnic hostility and potential for
renewed conflict
• The role of external actors
(Russia/China/Turkey/Gulf States) in the region

16:30 – 17:00 Discussion

 14/02/19 Central Asia 09:30 – 10:30 • Overview of the region:
focus on relations • History, political and economic system
with Afghanistan 10:30 - 10:50 Break
and Pakistan
10:50 – 12:00 • Linguistic and cultural dynamics across the region
Filippo Costa Buranelli
• Central Asia – Russia - Afghanistan and Pakistan
12:00 – 13:00 Lecturer (Assistant Professor)
Lunch
School of International
13:00 – 14:30 Relations, University of St
• Social Issues, Ethnicity and Migration in Central Asia
Andrews
14:30 – 15:00 Break

15:00 - 16:30 • Key security and foreign policy challenges

16:30 – 17:00 • Discussion
15/02/19 Implications for UK 09:30 – 13:00 Global scenarios on Russian foreign policy and direct Lilit Gevorgyan
military mission Break at implications for MOD mission Senior country risk analyst and
11:00 - 11:20 economist, IHS Markit
Discussion on key takeaways for MOD personnel

90-minute sessions have a 10-minute break in the middle (40+10+40)

0930 – 1200 Lectures

1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1630 Lectures
1630 – 1700 Opportunity for discussion and questions
 Sub Saharan Africa Training Programme
Ministry of Defence – 11–15 February

Day Themes Time Session Title Academic Lead

11/02/19 General 09:30– Course Introduction
themes 10:30 African History from 19-21st Century
Dr Phil Clark
10:30 – Break Department of Politics and
10:50 International Studies
10:50 – Impact of geography, climate and environment SOAS University of London
12:00
12:00 – Lunch
13:00
Cultural Issues 13:00 – Political Economy of development in Africa
14:30
14:30 – Break Dr Matteo Rizzo
15:00 Department of Development
Studies
Economic 15:00 – Understanding African Leaders and Hierarchies SOAS University of London
Issues 16:30
16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
12/02/19 East Africa 09:30 – Overview of the region and its history
and the Horn 10:30
10:30 – Break
10:50 Professor Christopher Clapham
10:50 – Key political developments and political faultlines Centre of African Studies,
Cambridge University
12:00
12:00 – Lunch
13:00
East Africa 13:00 – Sources of identity: kinship, race, ethnicity and nationalism in East
and the Horn 14:30 Africa
14:30 – Break
Jason Mosley
15:00
Research Associate, Africa Studies
15:00 – Linguistic and cultural dynamics across the region
Centre, University of Oxford
16:30
16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
13/02/19 West Africa 09:30 – Overview of the region and its history, and the ‘war in the Sahel’
(including 10:30
Nigeria, Mali) 10:30 – Break
10:50
10:50 – Key political developments and political faultlines
12:00
12:00 – Lunch
Professor Jeremy Keenan
13:00
SOAS Emeritus Professor in
13:00 – Sources of identity: kinship, race, ethnicity and nationalism in West
Anthropology
14:30 Africa

14:30 – Break
15:00
15:00 – Linguistic and cultural dynamics across the region
16.30
 16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
14/02/19 Political Issues 09:30 – Political systems and institutions
10:30 Corruption, patronage and clientelism
Dr Tom Young
10:30 – Break
Department of Politics and
10:50
International Studies
10:50 – Africa’s external relations
SOAS University of London
12:00
12:00 – Lunch
13:00
Demographic 13:00– Rural urban-relations
Issues 14:30
14:30– Break Dr Tania Kaiser
15:00 Senior Lecturer in Forced Migration
15:00 – Migration, refugees and diaspora populations Studies
16.30 SOAS University of London
16:30 – Questions and discussion
17:00
15/02/19 So what does 09:30 – Practical Exercises involving issues likely to be encountered by MOD
it mean for 13:00 staff Dr Phil Clark
the military? Break at Department of Politics and
11:00 - International Studies
11:20 SOAS University of London

90-minute sessions have a 10-minute break in the middle (40+10+40)

0930 – 1200 Lectures

1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1630 Lectures
1630 – 1700 Opportunity for discussion and questions