Read on Twitter
I was devastated to learn of the imminent closure of @ORGinfo, where I worked for 6 years. It's a huge loss to UK peace and security work. But it's also worth paying tribute to what it's achieved in 38 years of being many things to many people. https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/news/oxford-research-group-to-wind-up-at-the-end-of-2020
Scilla Elworthy founded ORG in 1982 to find out who on Earth was making nuclear weapons decisions, and why. Before the Cold War ended, she'd tracked them down, 100s of them, all over the world, and made them talk about it, account for it. All from a farmhouse in Oxfordshire.
In the 1990s, Scilla, Frank Barnaby (RIP) & others managed to persuade senior UK and Chinese military officers to meet to talk about nuclear policy. To build confidence. Indians and Pakistanis too. Dialogues sprouted. Three Nobel Peace Prize nominations... https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/news/professor-frank-barnaby-1927-2020
After 9/11, ORG evolved. Scilla moved on to found @peacedirect. @GRifkind arrived and through her unique combo of chutzpah, psychoanalysis and discretion got enemies across the Middle East talking. Whisper it, but the #JCPOA Iran Deal might not have happened without ORG.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Oliver Ramsbotham was pioneering ORG's collective strategic thinking model to get Palestinians and Israelis to define where they wanted to be long-term. Big impact in Palestine and in Yemen too it's been massive, reshaped by the inspiring @mabaabbad.
Meanwhile in London - where ORG moved in 2007 - John Sloboda was making sure that every casualty of the Iraq War was recorded, and hundreds got training in how to do it in Syria, Libya, Somalia... @everycasualty & @IraqBodyCount continue that work.
http://www.everycasualty.org/downloads/reports/Stolen-Futures.pdf
http://www.everycasualty.org/downloads/reports/Stolen-Futures.pdf
With ORG since 2001, @ProfPRogers has written monthly critiques of the War on Terror and US-UK imperialism ever since. With John and others, he created the #SustainableSecurity concept that continues to inspire the work of @RethinkingSecu1 and many others. https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/sustainable-security-global-ideas-for-a-greater-britain
On a shoestring, ORG championed the idea of Climate Security in the UK through the 2010s with Paul, @DrBeeZee and @OliverScanlan. The latter got it discussed at @MunSecConf in 2018, maybe for the first time.
And then there was @Remote_Warfare, which dared engage and ask questions of MoD and UK government on secret ops and special forces. Which exposed lack of French, US, UK strategy in the #Sahel. @Abigail_Watson7 will continue that work for @Saferworld. https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/the-integarted-review-lessons-learned-from-remote-warfare
Maybe ORG aspired to matter too much. Often, yes, it was a bit all over the place. It's been the best of people for the worst of times. Sorry to the dozens not mentioned here. But you've made a difference and I hope all will find the rewarding new roles they deserve soon.
