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Screenshot of British Army recruitment advert The Flood.

Unpicking British Army recruitment adverts

The latest British Army recruitment advert received widespread critique for innaccurate depictions of the military's role in domestic floods. We took a look at the advert and its place in the recruitment landscape.

Screenshot of the seating arrangement for the 2021 Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme graduation dinner. It shows six tables around which are seats MPs, ministers, military top brass and representatives from some of the worlds largest arms companies.

The MPs and the arms company reps

In our second analysis of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme we uncover how MPs dined with generals and arms company representatives.

From Militant to Military Labour

With the UK in the midst of wide spread industrial action we took a look at the historic use of the armed forces to break strikes and quell workers rights.

Overselling the Military

The British Army has a new recruitment campaign. We took a critical look at its message and how the latest iteration fits within the constant need to sell the military.

Pioneering a dystopian future

Many of the world's largest arms companies are involved in providing education and careers activities for young visitors at the UK's largest airshows. The same companies that are supplying weapons and military jets to Saudi Arabia for their war in Yemen.

The Military-Entertainment Complex

With the new Top Gun movie hitting British cinemas at the end of last month, our chief blog writer Joe Glenton reflects on the war films of his childhood and the recruitment potential of military sponsored entertainment.

Militarism and democracy

ForcesWatch podcast series 4

In the UK, the military is often viewed as an impartial and benign actor subordinated to a democratic leader. This season we examine the truth behind this commonly held view.

Since 2000 the civil-military gap has been narrowing as the UK military has sought to influence democracy and democratic institutions. With our hugely knowledgeable guests, each episode explores how militarism and the military impact on democracy and democratic processes in Britain.

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Warrior Nation latest podcasts

Feb 2023: Everything looks like a nail: why the military can't save the planet
Our host, Joe Glenton, talks to Nick Buxton from the Transnational Institute about the intersection between climate change, the military and security.

Jan 2023: Dark economics: understanding the politics of defence budgets

Joe talks to Matt Fawcett from the Global Campaign on Military Spending UK about the dark economics of Britain's war machine.

See details of all episodes.

Should the armed forces encourage young people to interact with weapons and military vehicles?  We explore why this is happening and how can it be challenged?

⚠️NEW BLOG

Despite all the #FutureArmy rhetoric there is a low-tech vibe to the latest British Army recruitment advert. Didn't stop it being misleading though. Just not in the way we're used to. Read more below.

https://www.forceswatch.net/comment/robots-and-floods/

Companies "will of course choose to fund think-tanks that already agree with them". And that can elevate certain voices artificially.

Another snippet from our latest Warrior Nation podcast with @kjolvegeland of @NKnowledges.

Listen to full episode here 👉https://tinyurl.com/2p8dt5pb

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