Joe Murphy
Job Title
PhD Student
Research interests
Research interests
Emerging technologies in war, drone warfare, international security, digital war, innovation in war, civilian participation in war, international humanitarian law.
Working PhD Title
The development, digitisation, and civilianisation of Ukraine’s army of drones: A whole-of-society approach to innovation
Supervised by Andrew Neal and Jamie Allinson.
Background
2017-20 BA (Hons) Criminology - Leeds Beckett University
2021-22 MA International Relations - Leeds Beckett University
Awards
Dean's Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Criminology 2020 - Leeds Beckett University
Special Commendation in the New Voices in Cultural Relations Masters Dissertation Prize 2024 - British International Studies Association & The British Council
Recent Publications
Murphy, J. (2026) Gamifying Ukraine's Army of Drones: Strategic or Moral(e) Destruction?, International Politics, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-026-00753-w.
Ajala, O. & Murphy, J. (2025) Countering Terrorism in the Nigeria and Lake Chad Basin: Reassessing the Role of Vigilantism as a Counterterrorism Initiative, African Security, https://doi.org/10.1080/19392206.2025.2458409.
Murphy, J. (2024) Coloniality, neo-orientalism, culture, and death: why it is time to move away from the ‘war on terror’ narrative, British Council, https://doi.org/10.57884/P1ZC-EZ57.