Dr Jac St John

I am a senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations, having first joined the University of Westminster as a visiting lecturer in 2016. I completed my PhD in Modern History at the University of St Andrews in 2020, and was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley in 2017. Prior to that I completed a MSc in Contemporary History at the University of Edinburgh (2015) and a BA in History and Politics at Queen Mary, University of London (2012).

My research focuses on (critical) histories of policing, surveillance, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, mapping the development of UK practices from decolonisation to the ‘War on Terror’. Working alongside my long-time collaborator Professor Sam Raphael, we have developed a particular methodological approach to researching covert state violence.

UK Special Forces war crimes in Afghanistan

A multi-year investigative research project into the systematic practice of unlawful killings by UK Special Forces units deployed to Afghanistan, and the subsequent coverup of this criminality by multiple agencies and institutions of the British state.

Unredacted

Unredacted is a research unit based at the University of Westminster that investigates and documents secretive UK state and corporate practices in the context of national security. We undertake in-depth investigations into national security programmes and practices, with a particular focus on covert, clandestine and secretive aspects of the US-UK ‘War on Terror’. Our Unredacted Archive provides full access to hundreds of thousands of pages of material, becoming a permanent home for thousands of national security-related documents which have not, until now, been gathered in one place.

The Politics of Public Order

My previous research focused on the politics of public order in post-war Britain, exploring the development of policing powers, methods, and ideas during crucial periods of change. I am interested in the social and political forces that produced, legitimated, and challenged policing and intelligence regimes, and hope to be able to turn back to this work soon.  

PhD Supervision

Lydia Day, 'Liberal Warmaking, Empire and Control: UK Military Training, Advising and Partnering of 'Local' Forces' (primary supervisor, Quentin Hogg Studentship, September 2025 - )

For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.