Derek Bolton

I joined the Defense Studies Department in September 2023. Prior to this I worked at the University of Bath, where I lectured on International Relations and International Security. My research focuses on the concept of Ontological Security in IR theory. To this end I have explored Ontological Security within the context of ideological alliances/contestation and information warfare. I also examine how the drive for Ontological Security can be better understood in relation to Durkheim’s more social view of religion as a community of believers and how shared conceptions of the sacred play a vital role in questions of conflict and cooperation.