Aaron Edwards: Academic, Author, and Global Security Expert
Dr. Aaron Edwards is an academic, author, and security analyst with a distinguished career spanning professional military education, higher education, and international peacebuilding. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Studies from Queen’s University Belfast, where his research focused on ethnic conflict and cooperation in divided societies, with a particular emphasis on Northern Ireland.
Aaron’s career began with impactful roles in journalism and community reconciliation. He contributed to The Other View Magazine, a platform established by former loyalist and republican paramilitaries, and led a major EU-funded peace and reconciliation initiative at INCORE, a United Nations University Centre of Excellence in Peace and Conflict Studies. Through the Journeys Out Project, he facilitated dialogue between community representatives and former combatants, addressing the complex legacy of the Troubles.
Since 2008, Aaron has served as Senior Lecturer in Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, educating future military leaders from around the world. His expertise has also led him to deliver specialised training for government officials, diplomats, military personnel, and intelligence operators in over 25 countries. Notably, he supported UK military operations during the Iraq War in 2008.
A Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the UK Higher Education Academy, Aaron has held research affiliations with Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Leicester. He also supervises PhD candidates in Modern War Studies at the University of Buckingham.
Aaron is the critically acclaimed author of several books, including Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the End of Empire (2014), UVF: Behind the Mask (2017), Agents of Influence: Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA (2021), and A People Under Siege: The Unionists of Northern Ireland, From Partition to Brexit and Beyond (2023).
His insights have been featured widely in the media, including the Irish Times, Belfast Telegraph, Financial Times, The Economist, and the BBC, among others. He provides expert commentary on Northern Ireland’s Troubles and peace process, as well as on broader issues in intelligence, national security, and counter-terrorism.
Aaron Edwards is a trusted voice in global security and conflict resolution, offering deep historical knowledge and real-world experience to audiences worldwide.
He can be contacted at: [email protected]
