Dr David Morgan-Owen is a senior lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He researches the history of war and strategy, with particular interests in the maritime world. Prior to joining St Andrews in 2025, David taught for over ten years in the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, where he worked at the UK’s Joint Services Command and Staff College.

David is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy, and a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. He has held visiting positions at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, the Modern War Institute, Westpoint, and the Centre for Future Defence and National Security at Deakin University.

An historian by training, David’s research focuses upon the theory and practice of strategy. He is particularly interested in the forms of political and epistemic contestation that underpin processes of strategy-making, and in the production and application of knowledge about war. Within IR, his work falls into strategic studies and historical IR.

He has explored these themes in a range of publications focused around histories of nineteenth and twentieth century warfare, and in contemporary contexts. His first book, The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning won the Templer Medal for best first book from the Society for Army Historical Research in 2017.

He is currently pursuing a research project exploring the role of the sea in the First World War. This research positions the maritime world as central to how Britain made war in the industrial age. It seeks to explore several themes including the relationship between state and business, the tensions between global and national conceptions of wartime organisation, and the ideas about war that shaped British strategy-making. This research has been supported by funding from the British Academy, the William Lind Foundation, and the National Maritime Museum.

David’s research interests include:

• The history of war in the 19^th/20^th century
• Strategic theory and strategy-making
• Conflict and the maritime world
• Civil-military relations
• Histories of war in IR

He is currently accepting new postgraduate research students in the above research areas.

History of War

Strategy

Civil-military relations

UK Defence

UK Armed Forces

David has worked extensively with stakeholders within the heritage sector and UK Defence. He has held fellowships at multiple museums, and partnered with the National Maritime Museum on his current research project. During his time at the UK's Joint Services Command and Staff College, David taught UK and international military officers between ranks OF-2 and OF-5. He has also consulted with multiple defence and defence-related organisations.