§ Mr. David Howellasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will specify the studies being carried out by universities and other outside academic institutions 427W referred to in chapter III paragraph seven of the Statement on the Defence Estimates.
§ Mr. ReynoldsOf the five additional lecturers appointed by universities to specialise in the defence aspects of their disciplines, four have already taken up their posts. Edinburgh have appointed a reader in the Department of Politics and plan to offer a third-year undergraduate course and a post-graduate course in comparative military systems analysis. At Southampton the post is also in the Department of Politics. It is proposed to offer a special subject in strategic studies for third-year undergraduate students and research will be undertaken on continental and naval strategies, the meaning and formulation of national interest and the impact of technology upon the strategic thinking and organisation of the Services. At Aberdeen the lecturer is appointed to the Department of Political Economy and will direct his research to two main themes, the impact of defence on the economy and the application of economic analysis to military resource allocation problems.
King's College, London have made an appointment in the Faculty of Laws. Studies will be conducted on defence aspects of U.K. constitutional law, central government organisation, Service organisation and jurisdiction and on international law relating to peace-keeping, self-defence, neutrality and the regulation of armed conflicts.
Details of the studies currently being followed by defence Fellows are as follows. The results of these studies will in due course be available to the Ministry of Defence.
By an Army Officer at University College, London.
To study the sociological problems of integrating military and civil communities in the U.K.By a Royal Marines Officer at St. Antony's College, Oxford.
To investigate the education given by the three Service Staff Colleges and the Joint Services Staff College: the assumptions on which this education is based, the purposes of the Staff Colleges, and the methods used to achieve these purposes and to gauge the success of their achievement.By a Royal Air Force Officer at University College London.
428WSocial psychology in its relationship to psychologica1 Warfare.By a Civil Servant at University College, London.
The mathematical theory of games and its application to situations of international tension and conflict.Senior officers, officials and university representatives have participated in study conferences and seminars as follows:
May to June, 1967
A course at All Souls College, Oxford on Problems of International Law and Security.
November, 1967
A seminar at University College, London on Defence and Foreign Affairs.
October, 1967
A seminar at the University of Southampton on the Political and Strategic Impact of New Weapons Systems.
January to March, 1968
A seminar at All Souls College, Oxford on the Defence Programme.
Further joint studies planned are:
March, 1968
A study conference at Oxford on Problems of European Security.
June, 1968
A study conference on The Eastern Mediterranean, arranged by the University College of Wales.
September, 1968
A study conference on Maritime and Continental Strategies, arranged by the University of Southampton.