Interested in all things defence? Take a peek inside our
Monthly Members' Newsletter
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For new friends, welcome! We are an interdisciplinary network of Masters, PhD and Early Career Researchers focused on defence, security and military topics concerning policy, strategy, history, culture and society. We hope you find our network interesting, exciting, informative, and supportive.
For old friends, thanks for your continued involvement. It is always worth remembering that we would be nothing without you! At the end of this May, we are glad to share thoughts and discussions about 'a matter of intelligence'. We had the opportunity to talk with inspiring researchers, and we also host the first event in our seminar series about the PhD journey! We hope you enjoy what we've learnt from you all.
Scroll down to get up to date with the news, opinions, events and opportunities from our members...
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Welcome to the Defence Research Network Newsletter!
This month we are returning to a popular theme of 'intelligence' and have been delighted to collaborate with the Secrecy, Power and Ignorance (SPINS) Research Network and the Women's Intelligence Network (WIN) on our Twitter Hour. Reflecting on intelligence, reminds us of the unclear boundaries surrounding what is classified as intelligence rather than mere information. How is it that something becomes intelligence? Are all voices listened to in the gathering and sharing of intelligence? Who and what are acceptable subjects about which intelligence is gathered and how do they become so? We've enjoyed reflecting on different perspectives on intelligence this month and you can explore this theme further through our recount of the twitter hour below. Our news section also considers contemporary uses of intelligence and, in particular, its application in the war in Ukraine.
We have some fantastic opportunities to get involved with our network this month. We are delighted to share that we will be at the British International Studies Association conference being held in Newcastle from 15-17 June so come and say hi at our stand there. Do let us know if you are going to be presenting there so we can promote your panel/roundtable? And, we are thinking of arranging an informal social gathering in the margins of the conference so ping us a message or email if you'd be interested in meeting some friendly faces in person and we will keep you posted.
This month sees the launch of the first DRN Monthly Writing Group! We are really excited to see some of you there and share a supportive space to help you along with your writing. Check out the section below with more information about this and how to register. We will also be holding our next online seminar in the 'Roads to and from a PhD' series this month followed by our first face to face event since 2019 at Kings College at the end of the month (see the following section for more about these).
Thank you all for your ongoing support and do talk to us about anything you'd like to see or need help with.
Hannah West and Jemma Humphries
Co-Chairs of the Defence Research Network
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DRN Monthly Writing Group
Edited by Lucy Wray
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We are excited to announce that we have decided to host a monthly writing group for DRN researchers and wanted to invite you to participate.
The writing group is based around the principles of Murry and Newton (2009) and will take place online. The purpose is to create a community of writers (Grant, 2006) and a space in which you can focus on your writing.
The format for the group is as follows: Duration is 2 hours:
1. 15 min welcome and SMART goal setting
2. 90 minutes of focused writing
3. 15 min review of goals i.e. have you achieved your writing goal aim.
You will be invited to turn off all of your distractions during this time, such as email and mobile phones. You will also be asked to turn off your microphone. A member of the DRN will manage the timings of the group and notify you when it is time to finish your writing.
The first writing group will take place on the 22nd of June. This will be an evening writing group from 1900-2100 GMT. If you are unable to make the start of the group, please feel free to join and write your goal in the chat.
If interested in participating, please register via Eventbrite and a link will be emailed out to you closer to the time.
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DRN Seminar Series: 'Paths to and from a PhD'
Edited by Lucie Pebay and Veronika Poniscjakova
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Keep an eye out: the two next events of our ‘Paths to and from a PhD’ series are coming soon!
On the 23rd June at midday (BST) we will be holding the second online event: ‘Beyond your PhD journey’ where we will discuss careers inside and outside of academia.
Networking is a crucial to skill help you through your PhD and further your academic career, come and join us the following week for our first our in-person event since 2019! On the June 28th, we are partnering with King’s College London to close the seminar series with an in-person event held at King’s College London.
Details to follow soon on our Twitter page!
For anyone who missed out on our first seminar, 'Starting your PhD journey', you can catch up with our recording available on the website here.
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Some news about us
Edited by Tamiris Santos
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- Our committee has increased in the last month. Robb Bloomfield and Tamiris Santos joined the crew and are currently supporting us with the website and the newsletter. You can sneak a peak our website for further information on our committee members, their backgrounds and much more!
- We are more than glad to announce that our dear co-chair Jemma Humphries got married! We wish all the best for her in this brand new and exciting part of her life journey!
- Our dear member Andre Carvalho was recently admitted as a PhD student at the King's College Department of Defence Studies. We are all glad and excited to hear more about his experience and research in the near future!
- DRN will attend BISA event. We're looking forward to meeting you there!
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Researcher spotlight
Edited by Tamiris Santos
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It is always a delight to be sharing with you the profiles of early career researchers whose work relates to this month's theme. As usual, we aim to focus our researcher spotlight section on anyone (civilian or military) currently studying for a Master's or PhD, so do get in touch and let us know about you and your work! This month, we are featuring thoughtful tips and the inspiring research of Mr. Danilo delle Fave, a PhD student at University of Pisa.
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Danilo delle Fave
PhD Student in Political Science at University of Pisa (Università di Pisa)
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Affiliation: PhD student in Political Science, curriculum Geopolitics and History of International relations at University of Pisa (Università di Pisa)
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danilo-delle-fave-321421199/
Research Project and current works:
My current PhD project revolves around the technoscientific cooperation and competition between Europe and the US. Starting from the Cold War era, the research will analyse the main issues and political aspects of cooperation and competition in the fight for the technological edge in all its multileveled aspects. Highlighting the links between government officials, universities, private firms, and the military, I will show how technology impacts on international relations and how states try to preserve their technological superiority against industrial espionage, reverse engineering, and the exploitation of global value chains.
The technological cooperation is therefore analysed under the lens of national interest and the preservation of industrial capabilities. New technologies mean new markets, new opportunities of economic growth, better human conditions for citizens, not only military superiority, and prestige at the international level. An example is given by the development of dual use technologies, which trickle down in the economy through the private sector, e. g the GPS, drones, etc. Therefore, I am going to analyse the forms in which crucial technologies are protected by intelligence and other governmental bodies alike. Furthermore, it will be explained how states with technological superiority can exploit it in order to assess their international status
With the ITSS Verona’s Intelligence and Military Strategy team, I have published articles regarding the Russian military doctrine and the theory of their Psychological/Information warfare. With the team we have planned a series of articles in our blog on the structure of Intelligence services around the world and they will be published in the near future. I have also recently worked on the Russia cyberwarfare theory and praxis in addition to a study on the Gehlen network and other stay-behind networks in Italy and Germany during the Cold War.
Motivation to pursue this field of study:
I have always thought that information processing is a key element for success in war as in peace. Decisions taken without an accurate picture of the situation risk to doom even the most efficient army or government. Intelligence is mostly associated with superspies, commandos, hackers. However, behind the curtains, there is the relentless work of analysts that transform raw data in effective information crucial for decision making processes. I found the complexity of the intelligence cycle truly stimulating, especially the so called “failures” of intelligence and of the intelligence analyst, like cognitive biases. Identifying this kind of failures, which are common in all ages and all countries, is what Western societies need for facing contemporary threats. I believe that the study of Intelligence’s history can provide us with many insights on the future challenges of intelligence.
Advice for people interested in Intelligence:
I think that the first step before approaching intelligence is the study of the intelligence cycle. I would suggest the study of John Boyd’s OODA loop before approaching it. The US Air Force Colonel had developed a useful way to understand the decision-making process: what factors are in motion, how can be affected each step of the loop by external factors and so on. With this scheme in mind, I suggest moving toward the intelligence cycle and all its issues. Once it is clear how the decision-making process and the intelligence cycle work, it is important to study the way in which intelligence works in practise, and the only way to do it is to analyse historical examples of it: from McNamara’s Wiz Boys to the Cia struggle with Islamic terrorism, from the Gehlen network to the institutional history of MI5. I stress the importance of studying documents and analysis on how intelligence processes were conducted, in order to understand not only the mistakes committed, but also the limits of the theory on intelligence cycle and the way in which it can be improved.
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A matter of intelligence
Edited by Tamiris Santos
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This section highlights some recently published reports, articles and research relating to this month's theme, including some research databases and recommended websites from our Twitter hour. Thanks to everyone who has been in touch to share their work, especially regarding this instigating theme. We are always delighted to learn from you. Here is our round-up on intelligence...
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Intelligence and espionage are very popular in the entertainment industry, particularly in fiction books and action movies. However, what if 007 and the like exerted real influence instead of only entertaining movie fans? That was the central concern of Amy Zegart in this analysis of how fictional spies play this influential role in America. Click on the link to read the complete article!
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Recommended Articles & Chapters
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In the News...
Edited by Tamiris Santos
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Thinking about our theme of the month, we brought fresh news involving intelligence...
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Counterinsurgency Workshop: “Reimagining COIN after Afghanistan”
26 May 2022, National Army Museum
Edited by Hannah West
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This workshop has been some time in the making but marks a significant step as it brought together early career academics to work together on papers for a future Special Issue. It follows a series of six-monthly Counterinsurgency fora which have been hosted by the Land Warfare Centre these past 4 years. Initially, we didn’t know what they would lead to, but the initiative has developed into an open exchange of ideas which has proven beneficial and enjoyable to all involved.
We felt that as a group we were ready to work together on writing some co-authored articles, having identified many common themes over the course of our involvement in the pervious COIN fora. The workshop was framed around the intention of ‘reimagining COIN after Afghanistan’, with the Special Issue intending to reaffirm the importance of interrogating the political, cultural and operational dimensions of counterinsurgency and illustrate the continued importance of revisiting some of the field’s core assumptions.
We couldn’t have been more warmly welcomed by Dr Glyn Prysor at the National Army Museum who had kindly provided a room for our workshop and we enjoyed sharing our research with him and brainstorming potential future impact-related collaborations. The workshop itself involved a morning session for academics only during which we introduced outlines of our draft papers and provided peer-feedback. Our discussions explored how mainstream narratives on counterinsurgency are derived and what they omit, the challenges of learning strategic lessons, and the nuanced factors influencing doctrine development. It was super to see how well the papers knitted together and to talk about journals to engage with.
In the afternoon we opened the workshop up to an invited group of Army practitioners with representation from 1 (UK) Division and the Land Warfare Centre. We enjoyed an open and wide-ranging discussion exploring the core assumptions of counterinsurgency and its definition, the organisational and cultural challenges to learning lessons and the associated tensions specific to counterinsurgency as a form of warfare. Much advice on reading material including doctrine was exchanged both ways and we closed by reflecting on the utility of these exchanges between practitioners and academics and looked for opportunities to share our research with military audiences either face-to-face or through accessible internal publications.
The workshop was attended by Dr Alex Waterman, (German Institute for Global and Area Studies), Dr Hannah West (Newcastle University), Dr Beth Rebisz (Bristol University), Sorina Toltica (University of Portsmouth), Kit Hargreaves (University of Salford). We would like to thank the Army practitioners who joined us for the workshop, the Land Warfare Centre for coordinating Army attendees and Mathilde Pelucchi and Dr Glyn Prysor from the National Army Museum for their support.
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May Twitter Hour: intelligence
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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This month’s #TwitterHour was co-hosted with SPIN Research Network (@research_SPIN) on the theme of 'intelligence’. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our discussion. Below, we share the highlights! #DefResChat
Q1: What topics are you working on? Which areas/aspects of intelligence would you like to see more research on, and why?
- I'd like to see more about intelligence as gendered, in terms of who is gathering it, who is it being gathered about and what is done with this knowledge (including which picture it is considered to be informing - enemy or civilian - and where is the line?).
- Selfishly, I'd like to see more work around digital spaces. Lots has been explored already (e.g around communications of violent groups) but I'd like to see a wider range of issues and spaces explored.
- I would like to see more on military intelligence at the level of fielded military units. There's plenty of literature on natsec intel and services but not on military aspects of intel. After all, MI is the mother of all intel.
- We'd like to see more about the productive aspects of secrecy in intelligence, as well as its negative aspects. Secrecy is more than just the hiding of information, and calls for more transparency may not always be the answer for example...
- The history of intelligence analysis.
- I’d like to see more on the political economy of intelligence work. I’ve been thinking a lot about the economics of secrecy lately and think that intelligence studies might similarly have some interesting things to say and explore?
- I’ll also add, of course, that there’s no such thing as too much work on the visual and popular cultural politics of intelligence work
- I am working on intelligence cooperation in formal and informal settings. I would love to read more theorisations on intelligence cooperation from practitioners in national and supranational bodies.
- Something I’m very interested in is the use of intelligence to inform and influence policy and public opinion. Something that has not been so overt in the past, but has been highlighted brilliantly by @Sandbagger_01, @Violent_Memo, @StevenWagner85 et al (https://t.co/kvLZuPoDoT)
- I've recently co-written a piece on diversity and inclusion in intelligence. So far, there isn't much research on the subject in general and I'd love to see more work in this area.
Q2: What's your favourite go-to source to recommend to friends and colleagues looking at Intelligence Studies?
- @BFagersten for all those researching EU security. And @BenJaffel's work on Intel cooperation (found out today about the new book and I'm already excited).
- That would of course be anything written by SPIN-ster @CKHillebrand!
- @RoryCormac is your go-to person for covert action.
- Herman, M. (1996). Intelligence Power in Peace and War.
Q3: What are the most interesting debates/biggest challenges taking place in the field of Intelligence Studies at the moment?
- The areas of health, surveillance and intelligence as well climate crisis and intelligence will be interesting places to watch.
- I've really enjoyed reading around the growing field of critical intel studies. Fellow SPIN-ster Oliver Kearns co-authored this beaut for example: Collective Discussion: Toward Critical Approaches to Intelligence as a Social Phenomenon.
- See also the special issue of @IntelNatSecJnl on this topic: (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02684527.2021.1893068)
- Diversity and gender with a side helping of I&W.
- We should also mention the role of intelligence in the context of the war in Ukraine. Use of #OSINT. Public discussion of #intelligence. Unusual insights into #cooperation...
Q4: How important is secrecy (still) within intelligence?
- We’d be very interested to hear from the intelligence studies experts, but from what we hear, how or what kinds of secrecy are changing. Big data, open secrets, public relations cultures are making older forms of ‘closed secrecy’ (if we can cook a term) look outdated?? Thoughts?
- Our key contribution would be to think about how secrecy itself may be practiced and understood differently in different contexts and across different eras.
- We have secrets without understanding their nature. Whatever is concealed, reveals something else. Best secrets are few in number. Secrecy will always have a place in intelligence, the questions will be the same, what? from whom? for how long, to what end?
Many thanks to all those who took part!
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Who we've been talking to
Edited by Tamiris Santos & Hannah West
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SPIN is a collaborative initiative between researchers based in the South West of the UK with members of the network across the UK, the Netherlands, France, Mexico, the US and Canada. SPIN research focuses on the power and politics of secrecy and ignorance – at the global, international, state, societal and personal level. With revelations associated with the War on Terror and the #metoo movement, obfuscations surrounding the climate crisis, calls for transparency and ‘open societies’, new technological developments (including ‘deep fakes’ and cyberthreats), the re-emergence of discourses of ‘fake news’, the deepening of conspiracy cultures, along with the ongoing struggles of marginalised communities to be recognised or acknowledged have resulted in an increased need to understand the political and social dimensions of secrecy and ignorance. The network therefore reflects an urgent and ongoing ambition to rethink secrecy and ignorance as forces for driving social and political developments.
Sign up for information about events and find out more at https://secrecyresearch.com/about/ or follow @research_SPIN
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The Women’s Intelligence Network (WIN) connects, supports, and promotes female scholars who work in the field of Intelligence Studies. WIN is hosted in Europe and the UK by the King’s Intelligence Studies Group (KISG) and in North America by the North American Society for Intelligence History (NASIH). The overall goal is to get more research by and on women promoted, supported, and elevated in the field of Intelligence Studies.
Sign up for information about events, and find out more at https://kisg.co.uk/win or follow us @womenknowintel
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When research meets charity and supports the rehabilitation of the military
Edited by Tamiris Santos & Hannah West
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Welfare in all possible senses is a general concern. Such a concern affects the civilians and the military but to different extents. In previous editions of our newsletter, we had the opportunity to learn about and discuss the veteran's welfare, including physical and mental health. This month we are glad to share what we've learnt from Anna Baker Cresswell, the Executive Director of HighGround, a charity that supports the military in their transition to civilian life using the environment. Scroll down for further details!
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 Creating an evidence base for Horticultural Therapy as a rehab intervention at DMRC Stanford HallBy Anna Baker Cresswell
HighGround is a charity I started in 2013.Our Mission is to improve the wellbeing and employment prospects of serving personnel and veterans using the green environment.
The Charity does this in 2 ways: by delivering the Horticultural Therapy (HT) service for injured serving personnel at DMRC Stanford Hall and by providing advice and support for service leaver and veterans about jobs, careers and vocational opportunities in the land-based sector with Rural Weeks at the core.
My Mother was a N aightingale Nurse and very keen gardener. When she died I wanted to do something in her memory, and helping those who have served their Country to feel better about themselves using the great outdoors seemed a logical thing to do.
I am extremely fortunate to have a great Board of Trustees led by our wonderful Chairman Air Cdre (r’td) Ian Elliott and as we move closer to our 10th anniversary when we will celebrate our achievements and look to the next 10 years, it’s a good time to reflect and thank everyone who has helped to make all this happen.Inherently and especially post the privations and challenges of the Covid pandemic, we know that being outdoors in the fresh air surrounded by nature is good for us.
My challenge is slightly more nuanced – how do I produce evidence to the Surgeon General (professional head of Defence Medical Services in the UK) that HT at DMRC Stanford Hall delivered as a holistic element of the rehab interventions available for clinicians as part of their treatment programme makes a relevant contribution to patient recovery and is not just a ‘nice to have’?
When Major Peter Le Feuvre, a Physio and member of the team who helped pioneer team-based rehab which revolutionised care provision at Headley Court began his walled garden project in 2011, he wanted to get his patients away from the wards and into the outdoors. From those early steps and via a show garden at Chelsea Flower Show in 2012, encouragement from the CO, and the unshakeable belief from Peter of the benefits this would bring his patients, the HT service at Headley Court running for 12 months of the year by HighGround, was developed.
My challenge has never been to find evidence that being outdoors in a safe space with semi-structured activity led by a professional whose primary focus is on the patient not the plant is beneficial. Instead, my challenge as an outside contractor, is to find ways to gather evidence from patients, referring Occupational Therapists, and the customer ie DMRC itself to demonstrate the contribution which HT makes to patient recovery at DMRC Stanford Hall with all the attendant Ethics constraints.
Professor Zoe Morrison has been a long-standing friend and supporter of HT at Headley Court and subsequently Stanford Hall and I am hugely grateful to her for the precious staff surveys she developed to enable us to capture what referring Occupational Therapists (OT) thought of the nascent HT service which, counterintuitively for these healthcare professionals was delivered outdoors, didn’t need a white coat, and mostly involved patients getting dirty – the early comments weren’t very promising..! But we persevered, and thanks to funding from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the Westminster Foundation, we recruited Carol our first Horticultural Therapist and ran the pilot to test the benefits of HT as a rehab intervention at DMRC Headley Court from 2013 to 2017 running 4,072 sessions for 1,316 patients.
Carol was teaching Horticulture in a women’s prison when she heard I was looking for a Horticultural Therapist and her perseverance and gentle good humour in the early days when deep suspicion from ‘those indoors’ would have deterred lesser mortals were pivotal to the development of HighGround’s Horticultural Therapy service. In the end, the feedback from patients who returned to the wards after HT sessions more relaxed, positive, and engaged and the arrival of our hens overcame the initial doubters.
When the move to Stanford Hall was announced I was told that whilst the HT service would be welcome to continue and the provision of a magnificent new greenhouse was included in the plans of the estate, it was made clear to me that HighGround would need to demonstrate that it had sufficient funds to make the move as no public funding for the HT service would be available due to it still being a ‘nice to have.’
Now here we are in 2022. We moved to Stanford Hall in 2019, said goodbye to Carol and recruited a new Horticultural Therapist Jane, a Registered OT and Andy to be our Therapeutic Gardens Manager who would be responsible for keeping the therapeutic areas where Jane would deliver HT sessions in good condition. https://highground-uk.org/horticultural-therapy/our-journey/
Jane is a keen amateur gardener who provides the clinical rigour and ability to communicate with referring OT in a language they can understand and under the direction of Anne Segalini our Professional Lead Advisor OT has started to use outcome measure forms to gather anecdotal evidence and common themes from patients referred to HT.
I hope that this data when combined with Professor Morrison’s staff surveys, will enable us to engage with the Academic Department of Military Research based at DMRC Stanford Hall so the long-term future of HT as a rehab intervention for injured serving personnel can be secured and the legacy of Headley Court will live on.
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What we're reading
Edited by Veronika Poniscjakova
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Aging Veterans with Disabilities: A Cross-National Study of Policies and Challenges
Arie Rimmerman
This book examines various challenges, issues and policies impacting aging military veterans with disabilities. It provides an overview of aging disabled veterans' health and psychosocial problems. It also evaluates policies and legislation towards veterans in the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel, noting that most veterans with disabilities in these countries are older, while the current legislation and budget target younger veterans with disabilities.
You can buy a copy here.
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Foreign Fighters and Multinational Armies: From Civil Conflicts to Coalition Wars, 1848-2015
Steven O’Connor, Guillaume Piketty
This new edited book examines the role of foreign fighters from the mid-19th century until the modern era. The book looks at the impact, motivations, and experiences of foreign soldiers and foreign fighters, and it also analyses the nature of coalition warfare during the Second World War. The chapters look at different case studies, including American Civil War, Spanish Civil War, Communist foreign fighters and many others.
You can get a copy here.
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Events...
Edited by André Carvalho
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Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium
Date: 09-10 November 2022
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Hosted by Cranfield University, the Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium provides research students and early career researchers in defence and security with an opportunity to present their work to a sector-wide audience. It covers both technological and social science research. The event also includes an exhibition space for industry and other employers of defence and security researchers. This event is designed specifically for researchers with an interest in defence and security research outcomes, including PhD and other research students and their supervisors, early career researchers, representatives from industry, government and other defence and security-relevant NGOs. If interested, you can find more in depth details here.
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Conference: 'Back to the Future? Continuity and Change in the Study of War and Conflict'
Dates: 08-09 June 2022
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King’s College London has a long history of studying war and conflict. In the year that conventional warfare returned to Europe, with President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Kings scholars will revisit some timeless themes. Among other issues, panels will explore coercion and the risks of escalation, ask questions about international law and humanitarianism, and discuss the role of international institutions in providing security. They will reflect on some important changes in the experience of modern conflict, such as the impact of new technologies, and grapple with major challenges to international security, like climate change, that will only become more acute in years to come. Register here.
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ITSS Verona Summer School 2022
Deadline for registrations: June 7th, 2022 |
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The ITSS Summer School will help you build your future as an expert in international Security. They excel on innovative thinking by providing reliable knowledge and content. Their professors are scholars from all corners of the globe, with firsthand experience that challenges and innovates the dominant discourse on Security. The summer scholl will tackle themes such as terrorism, grand strategy of the US and China, the reemergence of the Greater Middle East, the reality of modern Iran, the evolution of modern conflict and human rights, and the future of the cyber domain. All modules focus on practical examples, live interviews, and debates to make everything as interactive and stimulating as possible. More details and how to apply here.
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Opportunities...
If you would like to advertise any upcoming opportunities, please let us know via email.
Edited by André Carvalho
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Lecturer in International Security
Queen Mary University of London
Deadline: 12 June 2022
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The School of Politics and International Relations is seeking exceptional scholars to take up the position of a three-year fixed term Lectureship in International Security. They welcome applications from across the range sub-fields, but an ability to contribute to core teaching is essential. The post is based at the Mile End Campus in London. You can find more details at this link.
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Opportunities at University of New South Wales
Canberra and Sidney
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in History (Australia’s Experience of War)
Deadline: 08 June 2022
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The School of Humanities and Social Sciences is seeking scholars to teach and research in the history of Australia’s experience of war. Such work might involve an operational military focus, societal and community aspects, or some other facet of the nation’s involvement with armed conflict. Ideal candidates would further be willing and able to teach in one or more non-military history related areas. The details for the lecturer positions can be found here, and senior lecturer this link.
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Research Assistant in Sport
Leeds Becket University
Deadline: 06 June 2022
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The Battle Back Centre hosts 5-day residential courses for military veterans and serving Armed Forces Personnel who are recovering from physical injury or mental health issues. The course offers the students the chance to participate in several inclsuve outdoor adventure activities. As the Research Assistant at the Centre, your role will be to evidence the influence the supportive courses have on the lives of the participants, their recovery and well-being. For more details, please check this link.
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Lecturer in Strategy and Intelligence (Teaching and Research)
Aberystwyth University
Deadline: 06 June 2022
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The Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University invites applications for the post of Lecturer in Strategy and Intelligence. The successful candidate will contribute to our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research activities in these areas, and to student recruitment and administration. The successful candidate will contribute particularly to core and optional module teaching on the BA in Strategy, Intelligence and Security and to the MA in War, Strategy and Intelligence. To promote a flexible workforce, the University will consider applications from individuals seeking full time, part time, job share, or term time only working arrangements. Follow this link for more details.
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Call for Papers – Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society
IUS Canada 2022
Deadline: June 30th, Thursday |
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The 2022 IUS Canada Conference welcomes papers or organized panels that address the key themes of interest to the IUS Fellows in support of emerging scholarly research dealing with the military establishment and civil-military relations. Papers in all areas touching on defence and security in national and international contexts are eagerly solicited. To advance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in scholarly and military professional discourse, IUS particularly encourages submissions that bring new academic, cultural or regional perspectives to broaden analytic frameworks and professional perspectives on defence and security. Panel submissions (3-4 papers) are very welcome, and every effort will be made to group individually submitted papers into relevant panels. Submissions from graduate students who wish to be considered for the Franklin Pinch Award for best Graduate Student Paper should be clearly identified as such. You can proceed with your submission and find more information here.
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Call for Submissions – Journal for War and Culture Studies
Deadline: September 1st, Thursday |
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The Journal for War and Culture Studies has been at the forefront of the cultural turn in war studies from its first issue in 2008. Since then it has expanded beyond its original base in Modern Languages and twentieth-century European Studies to become truly global and to encompass research from the late eighteenth century to the present day from both the Arts and Humanities and the Social Sciences. Throughout this time, it has taken great pride in being a forum in which both established and new voices are heard.
In June 2021, early career researchers from around the world presented a series of short papers exploring future directions in the field. Now, postgraduate researchers and early career scholars are invited to send their reflections on the topic “War and Culture Studies - What Next?” for a special to be published in 2023. There are no prescribed themes for this special issue, but authors can to demonstrate how their own research specialism is establishing new ways of working in, and of understanding, the field. Authors should therefore reflect on the wider ramifications of their research, as well as its specificity, and highlight its broader relevance for scholars of War and Culture Studies. Further guidelines can be found here.
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Call for Submissions: Essay Contest
Modern War Institute at West Point
Deadline: 12 June 2022
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Army Futures Command’s Directorate of Concepts, in cooperation with the Modern War Institute, is pleased to announce an essay contest to generate new ideas and expand the community of interest for the Army’s next operating concept focused on 2040. They invite you to imagine how some advancing and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous systems might be employed on the battlefields of 2040, to explore how these adaptations at the tactical level might lead to changes in operations and campaigns, and to stretch the limits of current thinking of how Army forces best contribute to the joint force’s success by operating, equipping or organizing in different ways. In short, we ask you to help us think rigorously about what the future may hold and how the Army should begin to prepare for it today. Find more details here.
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Call for Participants
The Veterans and Families Institute
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The Veterans and Families Institute are currently undertaking a study exploring how RAF families communicate during periods of separation, in light of the rise of social media and online communication in the last decade. We are looking to speak to RAF children and young people 11-21 via online focus groups, and partners of currently serving RAF personnel with children aged under 18 via online individual interviews. Our aim is to better understand the positives and challenges of families’ communication today, and coproduce recommendations on how organisations can best support families’ virtual relationships. All participants will have the chance to win an Amazon voucher as thank you for their time. To find out more about taking part, please email abigail.wood@aru.ac.uk.
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Call for Participants: Survey
What should the Defence Committee ask the Minister for Defence People and Veterans?
Closing date: 08 June 2022
The MPs on the Defence Select Committee are seeking views of veterans and their families to inform the Committee’s questions ahead of an evidence hearing on Wednesday 15 June with Leo Docherty, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, and Jessie Owens, Office for Veterans Affairs. Access the query via this link.
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As always, keep an eye on our Twitter for new events and opportunities posted/retweeted every day!
Planning a future event?
If you are planning a defence-related event and you would like to reach an audience of like-minded researchers, we'd love to come along! Drop us an email and we can include it in our next newsletter.
If you are interested in any of our events but don't want to go alone, or simply want to expand your network, please reach out on Twitter or drop us an email and we can connect you with fellow DRN members who may be planning to attend.
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June's theme: Finishing a PhD
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Our theme for June will be 'finishing a PhD' so do share with us your advice whether you are in the closing stages or have just been through your viva. What would you have done differently looking back at when you were writing up?
We will be looking to showcase some early career researchers in research spotlights in the newsletter so don't be shy! And we welcome any suggestions for 'in conversation' pieces with more established academics working in this area. And let us know about any relevant events from book launches to webinars.
We will be holding a Twitter hour on this theme mid month so keep an eye on @DefenceResNet for more information and check out the website for a preview of the questions for the next #DefResChat. You can also find all our previous #DefResChats on the Archive section of our website. Make sure to tag @DefenceResNet and hashtag #DefResChat to join the conversation.
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Do you have a blog or publication you would like to promote? Don't hesitate to share it with us via email and we can add it to our newlsetter.
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Thank you so much for joining our network.
Have you recently won an award, had your paper published, launched a book or are you organising an event? We want to hear from you! We are always looking for new content for our newsletter and would love to showcase the great work of our members.
For queries, more information, or just to tell us about yourself, don't hesitate to contact us on Twitter @DefenceResNet or at defenceresearchnetwork@gmail.com
The DRN team
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