Aggie Hirst

Dr Aggie Hirst is an Associate Professor in International Relations Theory and Methods at King's College London's Department of War Studies, housed within the School of Security Studies. She completed her BA, MA, and PhD at the University of Manchester, with her ESRC-funded doctoral research analyzing neoconservative influences on the 2003 Iraq invasion. Since joining King’s in 2017, she has led a Leverhulme Trust/British Academy-funded project on US military wargaming and authored key works like Politics of Play: Wargaming with the US Military (2024). Her research bridges critical military studies and international political theory, focusing on wargaming’s role in doctrine instillation, military training, and veteran rehabilitation.

Her teaching includes the War Studies Online MA program, and she supervises PhD students in critical military studies, digital training methods, and play theory. Hirst has organized major academic events like NATO ACT Wargaming Week and co-founded King’s Wargaming Network to advance wargaming as an academic discipline. Recent work highlights the intersection of play, virtual reality, and military strategy, arguing gaming generates 'flow states' that shape service members’ behaviors.

Her publications span journals like Security Dialogue and International Studies Quarterly, with interdisciplinary analysis of military simulations, poststructuralist theory, and security practices. She is a core member of the Research Centre in International Relations, focusing on security conflict dynamics and their societal implications.