Oxford Research Group

Oxford Research Group (ORG) was a London-based charitable organization and independent think tank that worked on peace, security and justice. Founded in 1982 by Scilla Elworthy and a network of academics and activists, it initially concentrated on the psychological and political dimensions of nuclear decision-making. Its early work created channels of dialogue between British nuclear decision-makers and disarmament campaigners, later extending to the other recognized nuclear-weapon states, India and Pakistan. Elworthy and ORG were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988, 1989 and 1991 in recognition of this contribution. Although the organization emerged in an environment influenced by Quaker concerns for peace and social justice, it described itself as independent, secular and unaffiliated with a religious or political body. ORG did not advocate absolute pacifism. Instead, its central proposition was that security policy should make more room for political, diplomatic and social alternatives to the prevention and management of conflict through military force. It became a registered charity in England and Wales in 1988. During the 1990s, ORG broadened its dialogue work, including engagement between the United Kingdom and China on security issues. From 2001 onward, it developed a wider research agenda covering the causes and consequences of the war on terror, the sustainability of conventional security policy, the changing character and technology of warfare, conflict mediation, and the documentation of casualties in armed conflict. The organization’s geographic attention increasingly included the Middle East, North Africa and West Africa, while its policy work sought to influence debate in the United Kingdom and internationally. ORG’s principal program areas included Sustainable Security, Strategic Peacebuilding and, from 2018, the Remote Warfare Programme. Sustainable Security challenged approaches that treat conflict mainly as a problem of containment and instead examined structural drivers such as marginalization, militarization, climate change and competition for resources. Strategic Peacebuilding, previously known as the Middle East Programme, supported Track II and other discreet dialogues involving parties in and around conflicts in Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Its method emphasized strategic thinking, political settlement and engagement across profound disagreement. The Remote Warfare Programme examined the growing use by Western governments of partner forces, special operations units, private military and security contractors, cyber capabilities and unmanned systems in overseas military operations. ORG also hosted or incubated projects that later became independent organizations or initiatives. Peace Direct developed inside ORG in 2002 and separated in 2003. Every Casualty Worldwide operated as an ORG program from 2007 until 2014 before becoming an independent nongovernmental organization. The Oxford Process, established in 2017, formalized a strand of high-level preventive diplomacy and dialogue work associated with the organization. The Remote Control project, hosted by ORG from 2013, became the foundation for the Remote Warfare Programme. The Group moved from Oxfordshire to London in 2006. In 2020 it announced that funding difficulties meant it would cease operations at the end of that year, with some programs to be transferred or re-homed elsewhere. Its legacy continued through the specialist initiatives, research communities and successor organizations developed during its operating period.

Oxford Research Group was established in 1982 by Scilla Elworthy and a group of academics and activists concerned with the psychological, political and institutional dimensions of international security decision-making. Its founding context was the Cold War and the continuing risk posed by nuclear weapons. ORG sought to create communication between communities that were often separated by entrenched assumptions: government and military decision-makers on one side, and disarmament and peace activists on the other. Its approach was dialogical rather than purely oppositional, and it emphasized the value of understanding how security decisions were actually made. The organization was formed in sympathy with Quaker values concerning peace and social justice, but it remained independent and secular. It did not identify as an absolute pacifist organization. Its work instead focused on broadening the range of tools available for preventing and managing conflict, including diplomacy, political negotiation, social development and other non-military approaches. ORG became a registered charity in England and Wales in 1988. Its work on nuclear issues expanded beyond Britain to include dialogue involving the five recognized nuclear-weapon states, as well as India and Pakistan. ORG and Elworthy were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988, 1989 and 1991. In the 1990s, the Group extended its security dialogue work to relations between the United Kingdom and China. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, its agenda had moved beyond nuclear strategy. Since 2001, a substantial part of its research examined the causes and consequences of the war on terror, the long-term sustainability of orthodox security doctrines, the effects of militarization and the transformation of warfare through new technologies. ORG also pursued practical conflict-resolution work, particularly in the Middle East and later in North and West Africa, while seeking to affect British and international policy discussions. The organization’s Sustainable Security Programme argued that conventional security policy often treats visible violence as the primary problem while neglecting the conditions that generate it. Its analysis considered marginalization, resource scarcity, climate change and militarization among the structural pressures that can drive instability. The Strategic Peacebuilding Programme, formerly the Middle East Programme, developed and supported Track II dialogues involving actors connected with conflicts in Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. These dialogues were intended to allow sustained engagement where official negotiations were blocked or politically impossible. The program used a strategic-thinking approach based on engaging radical disagreement and exploring pathways toward coexistence or political settlement. ORG also became a host and incubator for projects that developed into independent entities. Peace Direct began within the Group in 2002 as an effort to connect international supporters with local peacebuilding organizations in fragile and conflict-affected countries, and became separate in 2003. Every Casualty Worldwide was developed as an ORG program between 2007 and 2014, working to improve the technical, legal, institutional and political conditions required to record every casualty of armed conflict; it became independent in October 2014. The Remote Control project was hosted by ORG from 2013 and provided the basis for the organization’s Remote Warfare Programme, created in January 2018. The Oxford Process, created in early 2017, gave a distinct identity to high-level preventive-diplomacy dialogues facilitated over the preceding years. ORG moved from Oxfordshire to London in 2006, eventually operating from Cambridge Heath. The Remote Warfare Programme examined the growing tendency of Western governments to conduct military activity through local and regional partner forces rather than large conventional deployments. It also studied private military and security companies, special operations forces, cyberwarfare, unmanned aerial systems and related changes in military doctrine. In 2020, ORG announced that it would cease operations at the end of the year because of funding difficulties. The organization planned for some programs to be re-homed in other institutions. Although the charity itself became defunct, its influence persisted through successor initiatives, independent organizations incubated within it, published research and the wider policy networks associated with sustainable security, strategic peacebuilding and remote warfare.

• 2020

  Operations scheduled to end

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG announced that funding difficulties would lead it to cease operations at the end of the year, with some activities transferred elsewhere.

• 2018

  Remote Warfare Programme launched

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The program began dedicated research into indirect military intervention, partner forces and emerging warfare technologies.

• 2017

  Oxford Process established

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG gave a formal identity to a series of discreet, high-level preventive-diplomacy dialogues.

• 2014

  Every Casualty Worldwide separates

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The casualty-documentation program became an independent nongovernmental organization in October.

• 2013

  Remote Control project hosted

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG became host to the Remote Control project, which examined changing forms of remote and indirect warfare.

• 2007

  Every Casualty Worldwide developed

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG began developing a program focused on improving the recording of individual casualties of armed conflict.

• 2006

  Relocation to London

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG moved its base from Oxfordshire to London.

• 2003

  Peace Direct becomes independent

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Peace Direct project separated from ORG and became an independent organization.

• 2002

  Peace Direct incubated

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Peace Direct was developed inside ORG to support locally led peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

• 1988

  Registered as a UK charity

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG received charitable registration in England and Wales.

• 1988

  First Nobel Peace Prize nomination

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ORG and its founder were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in connection with their disarmament and security dialogue work.

• 1982

  Oxford Research Group founded

  [1]Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Scilla Elworthy and allied academics and activists established ORG to encourage dialogue on international security and nuclear decision-making.

An independent, non-partisan and secular peace-and-security think tank that combined research, policy engagement and discreet dialogue to promote sustainable security and non-military alternatives for preventing and managing conflict.

• Policy research programme

  Sustainable Security Programme

  This programme challenged security strategies centered on containing violence after it emerges. It investigated deeper drivers of insecurity, including political exclusion, militarization, climate pressures and competition over resources, and developed policy alternatives intended to address those conditions before they generate or intensify conflict.

• Conflict-resolution programme

  Strategic Peacebuilding Programme

  Formerly known as the Middle East Programme, Strategic Peacebuilding supported discreet Track II dialogues and helped local and international actors think through routes toward durable political settlements. Its work included engagements related to Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria, using structured dialogue and strategic analysis to address entrenched disagreement.

• Military and security research programme · 2018

  Remote Warfare Programme

  Established in 2018 around the previously hosted Remote Control project, this programme examined how Western states increasingly rely on local and regional partner forces, special operations units and private contractors. It also analyzed cyber operations, unmanned systems and changes in military doctrine associated with indirect intervention.

• Preventive diplomacy initiative · 2017

  Oxford Process

  The Oxford Process focused on discreet, high-level dialogue designed to manage radical differences and prevent escalation. It formalized a body of preventive-diplomacy work associated with ORG’s earlier peacebuilding and mediation activities.

• Conflict-casualty documentation initiative · 2007

  Every Casualty Worldwide

  Developed within ORG, this initiative sought to improve the technical, legal and institutional capacity to record every individual casualty of armed conflict and to strengthen political support for comprehensive casualty recording. It became an independent NGO in 2014.

• Peacebuilding incubation project · 2002

  Peace Direct

  Peace Direct began as an ORG project connecting supporters with local peacebuilding organizations in fragile and conflict-affected countries. It separated from ORG in 2003 and continued as an independent organization.

• 2020

  End organizational operationsStrategy

  Background

  The charity reported that funding difficulties made continuation of its operations unsustainable.

  Action taken

  ORG announced that it would cease operating at the end of 2020 and seek new homes for some of its programs.

  Aftermath

  Oxford Research Group became defunct, while several initiatives and program communities continued through independent or successor organizations.

  Source

• 2018

  Create the Remote Warfare ProgrammeProduct launch

  Background

  The Remote Control project had been hosted by ORG since 2013, while indirect intervention and technology-enabled warfare were becoming increasingly important security-policy issues.

  Action taken

  ORG established a dedicated Remote Warfare Programme in January 2018.

  Aftermath

  The program gave ORG a formal research platform for examining partner forces, contractors, special operations and unmanned and cyber capabilities.

  Source

• 2006

  Move headquarters to LondonStrategy

  Background

  ORG had been based in Oxfordshire but was broadening its policy and dialogue activity and strengthening its engagement with UK and international policy communities.

  Action taken

  The organization relocated its base to London, later operating from Cambridge Heath.

  Aftermath

  The move placed the charity closer to national policy institutions and international organizations in London.

  Source

1. 1Oxford Research Groupen.wikipedia.org