James Horncastle

Assistant Professor, Global Humanities

Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations

jhorncas@sfu.ca

AQ 6207

Profile

Research interests

Refugee and Migration Studies
Modern History of Greece
International Relations
Yugoslav Studies
Identity Formation
Conflict Studies

Education

PhD, History, 大象传媒
MA, History, University of New Bruswick
BA, History, St. Thomas University

Biography

I was born and raised in New Brunswick, Canada. After attending St. Thomas University, I was inspired by its emphasis on liberal arts education, which I applied to my Masters studies at the University of New Brunswick, where I examined the social, political and military dimensions of Yugoslavia鈥檚 collapse in the 1990s. Upon completion of my Masters at the University of New Brunswick, I set out for PhD studies at 大象传媒, where I examined the Macedonian Question in the Greek Civil War. After serving as a limited-term appointment at 大象传媒 for three years, I joined the Hellenic Studies Program as the inaugural holder of the Edward and Emily McWhinney Professorship in International Relations.

Publications

Monographs

Journal articles and book chapters

鈥淩ussian warship, go f--- yourself!鈥� Human Factors in the Russia-Ukraine War and Ukraine Defying Expectations, February-December 2022" Journal of Slavic Military Studies 37 (2024): 267-86.

鈥淲eaponization of refugees: Why now?鈥� Comparative Strategy. 42 (2023) 747-62.

鈥淎n Ongoing Paradox: The EU鈥檚 Response to the Migration Crises, Rising Nationalism, and its Treatment of Greece.鈥� In Wallerstein 2.0: Thinking and Applying World-Systems Theory in the 21st Century. Ed. Frank Jacob. Wetzlar: Transcript, 2023. 99-120.

鈥淭he Unsettled Foundation: Self-Management and its Implications for Yugoslavia鈥檚 policy of Total National Defence鈥� Defense & Security Analysis 38 (2022) 106-21.

w/ Jack MacLennan. 鈥淲here eagles err: Contemporary geopolitics and the future of Western special operations鈥� Special Operations Journal 7 (2021) 43-54.

Older

鈥淐landestine 鈥淐omrades鈥�: The Comintern, Tito and the Underground Communist Party of Yugoslavia, 1939-1941鈥� in Between Two Fires: Neutral Countries as Clandestine Battlefields during the Second World War and the Cold War, 1939-1962. Ed. Andre Gerolymatos, Denis Smyth, and w/ James Horncastle (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020) 155-72.
Turning off the Tap: The 1999 Bombing Campaign of Kosovo and the Securitization of Water" in Ethical Water Stewardship. Ed. Ingrid Stefanovic and Zadar Adeel (London: Springer, 2020) 179-94.
鈥淭he Death of a City: The Yugoslav Peoples Army Siege of Vukovar, 1991, Refugee Crisis, and its Aftermath鈥� in War and the City (Leiden: Brill, 2019) 85-104.
鈥淎 Measure of Success? Soviet and American Military Advising in Yugoslavia, 1945-1957鈥� Air Force Advising and Assistance: Developing Airpower in Client States(Solihull, UK: Helion, 2018) 73-88.
鈥淢ajority Rule, Minority Issues: The Macedonian Question in the Dekemvriana,鈥� Defense & Security Analysis 33 (2017): 1-12.
鈥淢apping a term: Geography and its role in the success and failures of the Yugoslav and Greek Resistance movements, 1940-1945鈥� in War and Geography: The Spatiality of Mass Violence (Paderborn: Ferdinand Sch枚ningh, 2017) 77-97.
鈥淭ous Azimuts: Yugoslavia鈥檚 Defence Policy during the Cold War鈥� The Means to Kill Essays on the Interdependence of War and Technology from Ancient Rome to the Age of Drones. Edited by Gerrit Dworok and Frank Jacob (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Press, 2015) 182-196.
鈥淯nfamiliar Connections: Special Forces and Paramilitaries in the Former Yugoslavia鈥� Special Operations Journal 2 (2016) 12-21.
鈥淐roatia鈥檚 Bitter Harvest 鈥� Total National Defence鈥檚 role in the Croatian War of Independence鈥� Small Wars & Insurgencies 26 (2015) 742-761.
鈥淩eaping the Whirlwind: Total National Defense鈥檚 Role in Slovenia鈥檚 Bid for Secession,鈥� Journal of Slavic Military Studies 26 (2013) 528-550.
鈥淎 House of Cards: The Yugoslav Concept of Total National Defence and its Critical Weakness鈥� Macedonian Historical Review 2 (2011) 285-302.

Book Reviews

KITROMELIDES, P. AND S. MATTHAEOU (EDS). Greek-Serbian Relations in the Age of Nation-Building, Journal of Modern Greek Studies 1 (2020): 249-51.
WOLF-DIETER M脺LLER. The Unknown Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht and Hitler鈥檚 Foreign Soldiers, Global Humanities 2 (2015) 149-150.

Conference presentations

Presented 鈥淧resaging the Future: EOKA and Contemporary Irregular Warfare鈥� at SHoW 2024 in Nicosia, CY. 28 November 2024.
Presented "Presaging the Future: EOKA, Cyprus, and Contemporary Irregular Warfare鈥� at BC Hellenic Congress in New Westminster, BC. 24 June 2024.
Presented "Winter of Discontent: The Russia-Ukraine War鈥� at The Institute for the Humanities in Vancouver, BC. 21 November 2023.
Co-organized 鈥淓nvisioning the Greek Landscape: From Thera to Climate Change鈥� in Athens, GR. 19-21 October 2023.
Presented 鈥淔rom Gateway to Shield: Greece in the EU鈥檚 Perception on Migration鈥� at XENOS Workshop 2023. In Athens, GR. 28 May 2023.
Presented 鈥淩esilience as a Means of Obfuscation: Refugees in the International System鈥� at NEMLA in Buffalo, NY. 24 March 2023.
"Refugees and Migration in the Age of the Nation-State," Langara College, in Vancouver, BC, 5 October 2022.
"Present Problem, Future Conflict? The Republika Srpska and Russia鈥檚 Invasion of Ukraine,鈥� at Irish Association for Russian, Central and East European Studies 2022 Conference, in Maynooth, IR, 17 September 2022.
"Russia-Ukraine War: An old-new legacy of nationalism and state-building?" Douglas College, in New Westminster, BC, 12 July 2022.
"In the Shadow of Asia Minor: The Greek Population in Ukraine, Its History, and Future after the Russo-Ukrainian War,鈥� The Angelo K. Tsakopoulos Hellenic Studies Center, in Sacramento, CA, 12 May 2022.
"Understanding the War in Ukraine: A Panel with 大象传媒 Experts," 大象传媒 Public Square, in Burnaby, BC, 13 April 2022.
鈥淯sing the Lion to Catch an Eagle: Greece鈥檚 use of the Macedonian Question in Greek-American Relations, 1947-1949,鈥� Cold War (A)Symmetries: Conflict, Cooperation, and Trade, in T芒rgovite, RO, 28 October 2021.
鈥淕rabbing the Lion by the Tail: The Macedonians in the Greek Civil War, 1946-49,鈥� Association for the Study of Nationalities, in New York, NY, 8 May 2021.

Older

鈥淒estroying a movement, building a nation: The events of 1924 and the founding of IMRO (United),鈥� 鈥�Lords of the border marches鈥�: Paramilitary mobilization, ethnic violence and nation-building in Anatolia and the Balkans during the European Civil War (1905-1949), in Bucharest, RO, 4 December 2020.
鈥淕reece, Nationalism, and Migration: An Ongoing Paradox,鈥� World Systems Workshop, in Bod酶, NO, 12 November 2020.
鈥淩ecreating the Past: Historiography in the People鈥檚 Republic of Macedonia, 1945-1991,鈥� Memory and Trauma Through History and Culture: Migrations, in Burnaby, BC, 9-10 October 2020.
鈥淐omrade or Foe? Yugoslavia鈥檚 Involvement in the Greek Civil War, 1946-1949,鈥� Modern Greek Studies Symposium, in Sacramento, CA, 9 November 2019.
鈥淭errorism and Refugees,鈥� International Security Preparedness Professional Development Conference, in Victoria, BC, 19 June 2018.
鈥淭he Death of a City: The Yugoslav Peoples Army Siege of Vukovar, 1991, Refugee Crisis, and its Aftermath,鈥� War and the Urban Context, in New York, 19 May 2017.
鈥淯nfamiliar Connections: Special Forces and Paramilitaries in the Former Yugoslavia,鈥� SORA, in Fort Walton Beach, FL, 11 December 2015.
鈥淥nce again Comrades: Greek and Yugoslav Communist Party Relations, 1945-1946鈥�, ASEEES, in Philadelphia, PA, 19 November 2015.
鈥淢apping a term: Geography and its role in the success and failures of the Yugoslav and Greek Resistance,鈥� War and Geography, in New York, NY, 1 May 2015.
鈥淧oisoning the Well: The Macedonian Question in the Dekemvriana (1944),鈥� Western Consortium Graduate History Conference, in San Diego, CA, 25 April 2015.
鈥淭he Dekemvriana and the Slavo-Macedonian Question,鈥� December to Varkiza: Memory, Political Discourse, and the Greek Civil War, in Burnaby, BC, 20 February 2015.
鈥淒ifferent Visions, Same Problem: Yugoslavia and the Macedonian Question, 1945-1949,鈥� ASEEES, in San Antonio, Texas, 20 November 2014.
鈥淎 Tout Azimuths: Yugoslavia鈥檚 Defence Policy during the Cold War,鈥� International Conference 鈥淲ar and Technology鈥�, in W眉rzberg, Germany, April 1, 2014.
鈥淔raternal Discord: Yugoslavia鈥檚 Failed Intervention in the Greek Civil War, 1946 -1949鈥�, Northern Great Plains History Conference, in Hudson, WI, September 26, 2013.
鈥淜eeping the Genie in the Bottle: The Greek Navy in the First Balkan War,鈥� Greece and the Balkan Wars, in St. Louis, MO, October 27, 2012.
鈥淭he Mixed Harvest: The Role of Total Natural Defence in Croatia鈥檚 Secession from Yugoslavia,鈥� McGill-Queen鈥檚 University Graduate Conference in History 2012 鈥淪haping Space(s), Telling Time(s) /// Explorer l鈥檈space, d茅chiffrer le temps鈥�, March 2-4, 2012.
鈥淪owing the Seeds of Chaos: Yugoslavia鈥檚 Defence Policy in the Cold War,鈥� the Great Northern Plains History Conference, October 13-16, 2010.
鈥淏alkan Paper Tiger: Yugoslavia鈥檚 Military Strength鈥� at the UNB-University of Maine Annual History Conference, September 25-27, 2009.
鈥淐ontested History: The Historical Development of Dubrovnik鈥� at St. Thomas Research and Ideas Fair, March 21, 2009.
鈥淪trategic Perspective, Tactical Problems: Valentino鈥檚 Strategic Perspective on Genocide鈥� at St. Thomas Research and Ideas Fair, March 15, 2008

Community and professional outreach

"Warfare in the Mountains to Wage War in the City: The Cypriot War of Independence and Lessons for Contemporary Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism" InterPopulum. 17 June 2025.
鈥淭rump-Putin ceasefire conversation shows no initial signs of bringing peace to Ukraine鈥� The Conversation. 19 March 2025. .
鈥淲hat the U.S. ceasefire proposal means for Ukraine, Russia, Europe 鈥� and Donald Trump鈥� The Conversation. 11 March 2025. .
鈥淲hy is Trump鈥檚 preferential treatment of Russia shifting? Because there鈥檚 nothing in it for him鈥� The Conversation. 5 February 2025. .
鈥淧ourquoi la chute de Bachar Al-Assad ne m猫nera probablement pas 脿 la paix en Syrie鈥� The Conversation. 11 December 2024. .
鈥淧or qu茅 es poco probable que la ca铆da de El Asad lleve la paz a Siria鈥� The Conversation, 10 December 2024..
鈥淲hy the fall of Bashar al-Assad is unlikely to lead to peace in Syria鈥� The Conversation. 9 December 2024. .
鈥淎mid the West鈥檚 wavering aid to Ukraine, North Korea backs Russia in a mutually beneficial move鈥� The Conversation. 29 October 2024. .
鈥淯kraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia鈥� The Conversation. 23 September 2024. .
鈥淯krainian special operations abroad are part of its broader war effort against Russia鈥� The Conversation. 14 August 2024. .
鈥淩ussian airstrike against a Ukrainian children鈥檚 hospital reveals Russia鈥檚 eroding military might.鈥� The Conversation. 16 July 2024. .
鈥淒elays in western aid have put Ukraine in a perilous position. The Conversation. 16 May 2024. .
鈥淚srael hits back at Iran: How domestic politics is determining Israeli actions.鈥� The Conversation. 19 April 2024. .
鈥淟鈥檃ttaque de l鈥櫭塼at islamique (EI-K) 脿 Moscou risque d鈥檃ggraver la guerre entre la Russie et l鈥橴kraine.鈥� The Conversation. 26 March 2024. .
鈥淚SIS-K鈥檚 attack in Moscow risks escalating the Russia-Ukraine war鈥� The Conversation. 24 March 2024. .
w/ Jack Maclennan. 鈥淲estern leaders threaten to undermine Navalny鈥檚 legacy in Russia鈥� The Conversation. 21 February 2024. .
鈥淒omestic and international developments risk undermining Ukraine in a critical year鈥� The Conversation. 15 February 2024. .
鈥淶elensky鈥檚 tensions with his top military commander could undermine Ukraine鈥檚 war efforts鈥� The Globe and Mail. 6 February 2024. .
鈥淲estern strikes against Houthis risk igniting a powderkeg in the Middle East鈥� The Conversation. 22 January 2024. .

Older

鈥淯kraine can still defeat Russia, but it needs the right tools to do it鈥� The Conversation. 21 December 2023. .
鈥淚srael鈥檚 ground offensive in Gaza City is ignoring the past lessons of urban warfare鈥� The Conversation. 28 November 2023. .
鈥淗ow Serbia-Kosovo tensions hang like a spectre over the European Union鈥� The Conversation. 16 October 2023. .
鈥淶elenskyy鈥檚 meetings with Trudeau and Biden are aimed at winning the long war鈥� The Conversation. 22 September 2023. .
鈥淩egardless of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin鈥檚 fate, Vladimir Putin benefits鈥� The Conversation. 24 August 2023. .
鈥淯kraine鈥檚 slow advance doesn鈥檛 signal failure in its counteroffensive against Russia鈥� The Conversation. 18 July 2023. .
鈥淓l desaf铆o del Grupo Wagner puede darle a Putin una excusa para salir de Ucrania鈥� The Conversation. 25 June 2023. .
鈥淲hat the Wagner Group revolt in Russia could mean for the war in Ukraine鈥� The Conversation. 24 June 2023. .
鈥淧aramilitaries in the Russia-Ukraine war could escalate and expand the conflict鈥� The Conversation. 7 June 2023. .
鈥淏akhmut is increasingly a quagmire that works to Russia鈥檚 advantage鈥� The Conversation. 13 April 2023. .
鈥淟鈥檌nculpation de Poutine par la Cour p茅nale internationale est symbolique. Mais les symboles ont aussi leur importance鈥� The Conversation. 21 March 2023. .
鈥淲hy the International Criminal Court鈥檚 indictment of Putin has symbolic importance鈥� The Conversation. 20 March 2023. .
鈥淭he Battle of Bakhmut exposes Russia鈥檚 fault lines鈥� The Conversation. 8 March 2023. .
鈥淭he EU shows its weaknesses again amid another looming migration crisis鈥� The Conversation. 7 February 2023. .
鈥淩ussia is using drones to target Ukrainian electricity and erode morale,鈥� The Conversation. 16 January 2023. .
鈥淭he Russian draft isn鈥檛 likely to help Vladimir Putin win the war in Ukraine,鈥� w/ Jack MacLennan. The Conversation. 12 October 2022. .
鈥淲hy North Macedonia is the European Union鈥檚 latest self-inflicted wound鈥� The Conversation, 19 July 2022. .
鈥淏osnia-Herzegovina could be the next site of Russian-fuelled conflict.鈥� w/ Jack MacLennan. The Conversation. 13 April 2022. .
鈥淩ussia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine fuels a refugee crisis that could help Putin win the war,鈥� The Conversation. 28 February 2022. .
鈥淣ot the 1990s Again: Rethinking US Strategy for Afghanistan under the Taliban鈥� w/ Jack MacLennan. Modern War Institute. 10 November 2022. .
鈥淓urope鈥檚 Refugee Crisis, North America鈥檚 Refugee Opportunity,鈥� ELIAMEP. 3/4 (2015) 11-14.
鈥淟ocal Politics, Global Dimensions: Canada and the Fight against ISIS,鈥� Bridging Europe. 26 May 2015. .
鈥淎n Insidious Threat: The ambiguity of the term Terrorism and the Threat this poses to Democratic Institutions,鈥� Bridging Europe. BREF Commentary 23. 4.11.14. .

大象传媒

SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies