CfP: International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) Conference 2023
The International Society for
Military Sciences (ISMS) is pleased to send the first call for papers for the
ISMS annual conference.
Venue: DGI Byen,
Copenhagen, Denmark. November 6-8 2023
Theme of the ISMS XIV conference: Defence
Alliances and Partnerships
Background:
The Russian attack on Ukraine
brought conventional war back to the European continent and changed the
strategic and security outlook for defence and policymakers worldwide. The
ripple effects of the conflict can be felt around the globe in the form of
increasing energy prices, food shortages, inflation, and economic decline.
Defence planners and strategists have since debated how to interpret this new
security situation and how to structure and transform defence forces and
industries to these new realities. Amongst NATO members, demands for increased
defence spending have been met with bleak economic outlooks and the need for
reduced spending on welfare services. Worldwide the double adverse effects of
the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have devastated the development and
stability of many countries, which are now experiencing social unrest and
unconstitutional takeovers. In addition to this, the world is polarised to an
extent which has not been seen since the cold war.
The “old” security challenges did
not go away when Russia decided to attack Ukraine. The challenge to
decision-makers and defence planners worldwide is balancing the direct and
concrete threat from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to national security while
maintaining the capacity to deal with the tensing relationship between an
ever-increasing and assertive China and the US. On the periphery of these
security dynamics, great power competition and religious radicalisation in
Africa and Asia are growing and destabilising often fragile states. The great
powers and alliances in the international system cannot afford to focus
exclusively on the short to medium-term threats from the Russia-Ukraine
conflict and the tension between China and the USA, because globalisation from
below makes problems in the “periphery” ever-present worldwide.
Defence planning is a long-term
process that looks at least 10-20 years ahead. One of the many realities that
interacted after the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the threat from
radicalised insurgencies is that security, and especially security challenges,
cut across national borders and that the current plethora of threats calls for
multinational responses and partnerships as no single state can deal with the threats
alone. The importance of alliances and partnerships has again come to the
forefront.
The overarching theme of the ISMS
2023 annual conference is alliances and partnerships, with a specific focus on
defence and security alliances. The recent crisis, but also the crisis that
followed the global pandemic, stresses the importance of crosscutting
cooperation and partnerships in the defence sector and beyond. While
international relations and agreements are the centrepieces in defence
alliances, contemporary forms of cooperation in military affairs go beyond
state-to-state relationships to public-private and civilian-military relations;
it also entails defence-industry-academia cooperation.
To understand the importance and nature of these varying forms of cooperation and alliances, the 2023 conference focuses on defence alliances and partnerships from a broad perspective. Partnerships and alliances come in many forms and shapes. Examples could be NATO, European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), which either is a military alliance (NATO) or have a military dimension (EU and AU). However, it could also be short-term alliances or coalitions of the willing, which often are organised around common security challenges, e.g. MNJTF, G5-Sahel, or Operation Takuba. For this reason, the ISMS is calling for papers and abstracts within the sub-themes of the Society’s working groups. Potential authors are kindly encouraged to consider the following working groups and themes for their papers:
- War Studies
- Military History
- Military Technology
- Military Leadership, Command and Control and
Basic Competences
- Military Law and Ethics
- Security and Defense Policy Strategy
- Armed Forces and Society
- Defence Management and Economics
- Military Education
- Military Strategy
Please send submissions to https://danishdefence.dk/call-for-papers-isms no
later than May 15, 2023 along with an indication of your preferred working
group (this deadline was previously 31 March). The submission form is an
abstract of 1 (max 2) standard page(s), each 2,400 characters, including
spaces. Organised panels, roundtables or sessions may also be proposed. Please
indicate the point of contact for group submissions.
For practical information on the
conference please visit https://danishdefence.dk/isms-2023.
The ISMS is an informal network of
peer institutions for military education and research in democratic countries. The
purpose is to build a network for the creation, development, exchange and
diffusion of research and knowledge about war, conflict management and peace
support efforts.
Contact Info: Project officer
ISMS 2023. Jesper Nielsen, Institute for Strategy an War Studies, Royal Danish
Defence College