An openDemocracy investigation has found that over the past five years, UK universities received over £100 million in donations, funding, and sponsorships from arms companies. According to the investigation, Oxford University has taken approximately £17 million, with the lion’s share of this money from Rolls Royce.
This is not the first investigation into the University’s accepting funds from arms companies. In 2021, an investigation by Action on Armed Violence found that from 2013 to 2021 the University received almost £20 million from Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and Rolls Royce.
The full extent to which Oxford University receives funding from arms companies is difficult to gauge, as many donations are kept private despite ongoing FOIA requests. What is equally, if not more difficult to gauge, is what arms companies get in return for their donations.
OpenDemocracy found that 36 arms company officials sit on advisory boards to twelve Russell Group Universities. Arms companies also fund specific projects at Universities, such as the Tempest engineering project at Oxford, funded by Rolls Royce. The Centre for Doctoral Training is also often funded by arms companies.
As the International Court of Justice hears the case of South Africa v. Israel, with South Africa accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide against the Gazan population, the conversation around complicity in possible war crimes has intensified. Lockheed Martin, the American company that produces F-35 fighter jets for Israel as well as numerous other countries, has stated that roughly 500 UK-based suppliers are involved in the production process for the F-35. Amongst these suppliers are companies such as Rolls Royce, BAE systems, and Airbus.
Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank are not the only war zones where British and American arms companies have been implicated. Lockheed Martin has been supplying Saudi Arabia with arms while the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen launches airstrikes described by Human Rights Watch as indiscriminate and disproportionate. Lockheed Martin has also been supplying the Turkish state with high level fighter jets, despite decades of Turkish military aggression towards Kurdish people and support of the Azerbaijani militaries.
Organisations such as Action Against Oxford War Crimes and Disarm Oxford have been outspoken against the involvement of Oxford University with these arms companies. On their website, Action Against Oxford War Crimes claims “the University is complicit in death and destruction,” and in a press release from last year stated “we will not give up our fight until Oxford University cuts all ties with […] arms dealers.”
Oxford University spokespeople have responded to these accusations, telling Cherwell: “All Oxford University research is academically driven, with the ultimate aim of enhancing openly available scholarship and knowledge. Donors have no influence over how Oxford academics carry out their research, and major donors are reviewed and approved by the University’s Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding, which is a robust, independent system taking legal, ethical and reputational issues into consideration before gifts are accepted.
“We take the security of our academic work seriously, and work closely with the appropriate Government bodies and legislation. Much of our overseas collaborative research addresses global challenges such as climate change and major health problems where international involvement is important in delivering globally relevant solutions.”
As protests concerning the Israel-Gaza War continue to be held in London and Oxford, it is likely that dialogue will continue surrounding the University and its ties to arms companies.
