Simon Ball

Simon Ball has been the University’s Chair of International History & Politics at the University of Leeds since 2012. He previously served as Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Glasgow. As Academic Integrity Lead in the School of History, his research centers on the Cold War, the Second World War, British politics, assassination in international politics, and twentieth-century secret intelligence. Professor Ball edited War in History and sits on the editorial boards of Intelligence & National Security and Diplomacy & Statecraft. His books include Death To Order (2025), Secret History (2020), Alamein (2016; Folio Society 2022), The Bitter Sea (2009), The Guardsmen (2004), The Cold War (1998; reprinted 2009), and The Bomber in British Strategy (1995; Routledge 2022). He collaborates widely beyond academia, including authoring a 2022 REF Impact Case Study.