The Economist’s appointment of former 77th Brigade commander Major General Alex Turner as defence editor raises questions about whether the esteemed paper’s defence journalism can now maintain sufficient independence from military institutions when senior practitioners of information warfare move into such influential media roles.

Action on Armed Violence has joined a coalition of UK organisations in endorsing a statement urging universities to reject the Defence Universities Alliance, warning that closer ties between higher education and the defence sector risk undermining academic independence and accelerating the militarisation of campuses.