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! For our November newsletter we are talking about conferences. We have lots of different perspectives to share with you so we hope you enjoy the read.
Scroll down to get up to date with the news, opinions, events and opportunities from our members...
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A reminder that if you have been forwarded our newsletter and are not already subscribed, you can sign up here.
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Welcome to the Defence Research Network Newsletter!
Hello again everyone! I am delighted to welcome you to another newsletter and a topic which I know will appeal to all of you because in one way or another we all have to navigate conferences once in a while. And whether that is an exciting prospect with the chance to connect with colleagues or a daunting prospect as you prepare to present for the very first time, this newsletter finds space to reflect, share experiences and top tips so enjoy! Thank you to everyone for their contributions.
Last week saw us hold our planning meeting for our 2024 programme and I am really excited about what we have in store. We are going to dedicate our December newsletter to sharing this plan with you but for now I just wanted to share some committee news. I want to say a huge thanks to all of the (all volunteer) committee for giving up so much of their time to preparing newsletter content, arranging events, and doing everything else in the background that makes this network possible. I also wanted to say a big thank you to Andre Carvalho for his hard work, particularly in contributing to past newsletters and coordinating the events and opportunities section. Andre has had to stand down due to other commitments but we wish him all the best for the future.
I am delighted to say that Veronika Poniscjakova and Baris Celik are going to be co-chairing with me as we look to make space for some more strategic work through partnership and collaboration. They are going to be amazing and are raring to go with our 2024 programme. I am also really pleased to say that Tegan Harrison will be stepping up to be the newsletter Editor so you will be hearing more from her in future editorials too!
Take care,
Hannah West
Co-Chair of the Defence Research Network
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To kick this issue off we are very excited to announce that the Defence Research Network has organised its second virtual Christmas Social for Wednesday 13th December at 1200.
We invite all our followers and members, new and old, to join us for the DRN Christmas social. Please remember that you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to take part, everyone is welcome. Expect fun Christmas-themed games and activities and use this opportunity to get to know other researchers and build connections in an informal setting.
Don’t miss on the fun: join us! Feel free to grab some Christmas food or drinks and, if you can, wear a Christmas jumper! 🎄🎅🏼We hope to see many of you there!
For tickets, see here.
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DRN Peer-to-peer workshops
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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This month, Dr Hannah West and Lucy Robinson hosted two peer-to-peer workshops to support our community with their submissions for the BISA Conference and the FiMT Research Centre Conference. Thank you very much to Dr Nick Caddick (BISA Programme Chair) and Kirsty Dimond (Deputy Director of FiMT Research Centre) for joining us and sharing their advice.
Both workshops had a wide-range of discussions including the process of submission, how to write a good abstract, how to select a working group and expectations of presenters.
The FiMT Research Centre Conference's call for abstracts remains open (deadline is 15 January 2024). The call for papers for BISA 2024 has now ended but ticket sales for attendees will be available in the coming months.
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Our committee's reflections on conferences
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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For this month's newsletter, we asked our committee to share their reflections on conferences; from their memories of their first presentation at an academic conference to ones they have organised themselves!
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First up, Lucy Robinson, our Twitter Manager, shares her reflections on her recent attendance at an e-festival!
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This month, I attended and presented at the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) Research Methods e-Festival. The e-Festival is completely online and is designed to be a “celebration of research methods with an interdisciplinary focus” with the 3-day programme was packed with over a hundred sessions in a variety of formats (NCRM, 2023).
I would certainly recommend that fellow student researchers look for opportunities to present at e-festivals or other online events. They often mean you are able to share your research with a far larger and more diverse audience than you would have at a more traditional academic conference. Also, being online removes the necessity for expensive and time-consuming travel, thus increasing accessibility for presenters and attendees alike.
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Next up, we have our secretary, Ann Bajo sharing her reflections on the first conference she attended in the UK.
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My first conference in the UK was the International Conference on Rethinking Sustainable Development and Peace Adapt to a Changing World in Crisis organised by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Centre for War and Peace Studies and Centre and SEARCH Centre of Liverpool Hope University. I presented about the “Challenges in the Counterterrorism strategy of the Philippine post-Marawi.” What is amazing about an international hybrid conference is that it allows participation of presenters from all over the world. It opens up learning opportunities from researchers with different backgrounds and perspectives.
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Veronika Poniscjakova (one of our new co-chairs) reflects on co-organising a symposium.
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The latest event I attended (and co-organised) was not a traditional conference, but a symposium. Earlier this month, my colleague from the Portsmouth Military Education team, Dr Harry Richards, and I organised the “UK PME Symposium 2023: Challenges and Opportunities”, held at the Churchill War Rooms. The event was attended by professional military education experts from Dartmouth (Navy), Sandhurst (Army) and Cranwell and Halton (RAF). I truly enjoyed meeting other academics involved in professional military education; given we work in a very different environment than other academics, we had lots to talk about! The purpose of the symposium was to build relations between colleges of the three services and seek synergies between the academic components of PME in the UK.
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Daniel Leightley (committee member) reflects on his attendance at last month's CIMVHR forum.
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Last month I attended the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research Forum in Ottawa over four days. The main focus of this year's Forum was on military Sexual Trauma and new approaches to Moral Injury. It was an excellent Forum, and showcased the world class research being conducted across the UK, Canada, US and other partner nations. It was also a great opportunity to network and collaborate. I'd highly recommend the Forum for researchers looking to present their work to an international audience but not just academics, but policy makers, members of the military and civilians.
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And finally, one of our Co-Chairs, Hannah West shares her reflections on taking part in a twitter conference.
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This was a few years ago now but it sticks out in my memory as being a bit different to a conventional conference. I took part towards the later stages of my PhD and saw it as an opportunity to share my research in a public forum in 12 tweets! It was great to see different media from images to sound/film working really well in this format (as someone who uses creative methods in my research I find it frustrating when conventional conferences struggle to facilitate playing film or audio so this was refreshing). I did reflect that networking is more difficult or at least different but I recommend reaching out, asking follow up questions and sending DMs to connect. I found it fun to condense my research this way and make it accessible. Thanks again to the Society for the History of War for the opportunity, that I recall it so vividly 3 years on is high praise I feel!
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News from our committee
Edited by Tegan Harrison
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Counterinsurgency Forum
Early October saw the latest Counterinsurgency Forum being co-convened with the British Army Land Warfare Centre in Warminster. The forum was coordinated jointly by Major Adam Champion, Dr Alex Waterman and Dr Hannah West and was an opportunity to bring together early career scholars working on counterinsurgency as well as re-convening contributing authors to our 'in work' Special Issue, Reimagining counterinsurgency after Afghanistan. We were delighted to be joined by Dr Tom Smith, University of Portsmouth and Prof Naomi Head, University of Glasgow as guest discussants, we really enjoyed their contributions.
The event proceeded as usual to hear updates from new scholars as well as her how contributors were getting on with their Special Issue papers. It was fantastic to hear about so much exciting research and we are thinking about ways to expand the forum to share this work with a greater network in due course. In the afternoon we were really enjoyed hearing from Ann Bajo, a DRN committee member and PhD student at the University of Portsmouth who shared her fascinating experiences of working with the Philippines Army (Thanks Ann!). This was followed by a wide-ranging discussion on Transitions in Counter-Insurgency in the Ukraine Context. Do get in touch if you are an early career scholar working on counterinsurgency as we would love to hear from you (and our events are always hybrid so you can dial in from wherever you are!).
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Ann has kindly reflected on her experience of joining us....
It was an honor and privilege to be the invited guest speaker for this year's COIN forum hosted by the British Army Land Warfare Centre. I talked about the insurgency problem in the Philippines and my experience in war zones being a defense researcher and how my experience in the field impact the Philippine military as an organisation. It was an engaging experience with the British Army learning about TTPs, operating concepts and COIN in the Philippines and how it can be related to COIN operations by the British Army.
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Veronika Poniscjakova continues her media work, offering the latest commentaries on the Israel-Gaza conflict. Her most recent highlights can be found below.
- ‘Has Israel actually started its invasion into Gaza?’, Deutsche Welle, 29/10/23, https://amp.dw.com/en/has-israel-actually-started-its-invasion-into-gaza/a-67249168
- ‘Israel-Gaza conflict & ceasefire’, BBC Radio Scotland, 31/10/23,
- ‘Nasrallah's Ambiguous Position on the Gaza War’, TVP World, 04/11/23, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0reLiK4SQ5M
- ‘Guerre Israël-Hamas: l'armée américaine joue les équilibristes de la dissuasion’, France 24, 09/11/23, https://www.france24.com/fr/moyen-orient/20231109-guerre-isra%C3%ABl-hamas-l-arm%C3%A9e-am%C3%A9ricaine-joue-les-%C3%A9quilibristes-de-la-dissuasion
- ‘Israel implements humanitarian pauses in northern Gaza’, TVP World, 10/11/23, https://youtu.be/KQaO1_Yghvg?si=coc2Rzi7gfZwwnUO&t=864
- Israel & Gaza war’, France 24, 10/11/23
We are also very pleased to highlight that Veronika has recently received the Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence 2023, Commendation for Partnerships and Collaboration (28/11/23). This is a thoroughly deserved accolade. Congratulations Veronika!
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Shared from our alumni community (thank you Claire Lee!), an exciting new 'Defence & Security Research Centre' has been announced by Oxford Brookes University.
Launched in October at a Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) event the Defence and Security at Oxford Brookes University (DASOBU) 'the centre will bring together Government, industry and academia to analyse and tackle real world problems, including integration, inclusiveness and integrity within the defence and security sector, and hybrid warfare threats such as cyber-attacks and circulation of disinformation in the public domain.'
To find out more and contact details see here.
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SCiP Alliance Annual Conference - 29th November 2023
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This month, Lucy also attended the SCiP Alliance's Annual Conference on the theme 'Identity Matters'.
The conference sought to gather "practitioners, researchers, policymakers and funders to focus our collective attention, expertise and effort on the question of Service child identity, on Service children’s identities" and explore "why identity matters, broaden our understanding of the diverse expressions of what it means to be a Service child, and how, by considering identity matters in our work, we can help Service children to thrive" (SCiP Alliance, 2023).
Lucy ran a workshop titled 'Translating child-centered creative research methods into the school context', attended by a range of stakeholders. Throughout the day, she also met colleagues, old (including alumni Claire Lee!) and new, and heard from service children and young people as they shared their reflections on, and experiences of, being part of a military family.
Two highlights from the event included attending a co-production workshop led by young people from Forces Children Scotland making zines and having a go at the SCCE Cyrmu's 'Armed Forces terminology match up' activity!
Lucy's included a photo of the activity below - why not have a go!
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We are pleased to share that the STARC team at Queen's has another Veteran paper due for publication.
Entitled 'Hitting the wall: The impact of barriers to care and cumulative trauma exposure on PTSD in Northern Ireland Veterans', the paper is authored by Eric Spikol, Catherine Hitch (Swansea University), Martin Robinson, Emily McGlinchey, & Cherie Armour.
It has been accepted with the Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health with online publication in late November (print publication June 2024).
For more detail, follow the link.
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We are pleased to circulate a new publication produced by Dr Bethany Rebisz and Katherine Bruce-Lockhart on the relationship between development and COIN in the late colonial era.
The chapter is available here.
For the handbook see here.
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What we have been listening to
Edited by Veronika Poniscjakova
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Air Power and International Security podcast by Portsmouth Military Education Team
War on the Rocks
Insecure: A Security Podcast by the Centre for Global Security Challenges, University of Leeds
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Do get in touch if you have heard a fascinating podcast or you have been involved in one, we'd love to include it in a future newsletter.
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November Twitter Hour: Conferences
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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November's #TwitterHour on the theme of conferences' happened on Wednesday 22nd November. Thank you very much to all those who engaged with the four questions. #DefResChat
Q1: What has been the best conference that you've attended as a delegate/presenter and why?
- To me it's a tough choice between BISA and UACES annual conferences. I like them becauase they're both very ECR-friendly. They're also well attended by fellow academics in European (security) studies, so a lot of opportunities to network. And they tend to choose nice host cities!
- The first conference I had the opportunity to attend both as a delegate and as a discussant was Barcelona's Workshop on International Security @IBEI this year. It was a very organised workshop where we could have invaluable feedback, discussions and networking.
- How did you find out about that conference/ conferences in general?
- If I am not mistaken, I received an email, but a dear friend from the @MilInNetwork recommended this. In general, I accompany events through research colleagues from the networks I participate, including the @DefenceResNet, the ECR network from @BritishAcademy_ and @MYBISA
- That would probably have to be @europeanisa. Wonderfully varied programme and very welcoming. I have really enjoyed attending ISA and BISA as well, though.
- I got to participate as a panelist and a panel chair for the first time this year! I was very glad I decided to give the conference a shot, it was a very good experience all around.
- Another vote for the @MYBISA Conference which I always find really welcoming with a great programme and a good size to have lots of people to catch up with but not so massive that you can't keep up with it.
- The best conference I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at was the #ICRMC, the brainchild of @DrHelenKara. It was a warm and welcoming space; full of opportunities to learn, develop and connect with others interested in all things creative methods!
Q2: What have you got out of being involved in conferences in other ways (I.e. chair, panelist, poster presenter)?
- I suppose that as an organiser, I could learn to deploy a wider range of administrative and soft skills. As a panelist, further presentation skills and communication with different audiences. As a discussant, providing straightforward and reasonable feedback.
- Is there a role you prefer?
- I suppose it all depends on the theme. I enjoy sharing my work with people, but I appreciate the great amount of learning provided by being a reviewer/discussant.
- I enjoyed being discussant for the first time @iusafs conference and found it rewarding to read other papers and encourage ECRs towards their first publications through feedback.
- Top benefits for me from a panellist's perspective are:
- Receive feedback on my research
- Exchange knowledge
- Learn about diverse perspectives and research fields
- Explore collaboration opportunities
Q3: What helps you decide which conferences to attend and/or present at?
- I look for conferences that will bring together academics I want to engage with, for example, the ISA series is great for bringing together @CritMilStudies scholars. Being interdisciplinary though, I find it helpful to present to different audiences such as history conferences.
- I choose conferences that are (directly) relevant to my research in terms of a) conference theme and b) specific panels. Location is also a key consideration to me from a cost perspective, as I need visa for many non-UK conferences.
- Do you ever look to attend conferences about your research methodology/methodologies?
- Perhaps not a primary concern, but if there are any panels in the conference I'm attending that are relevant to the methods I (might) use, then that's a good bonus :) This said, I had various useful conversations during conferences that helped me better use specific methods.
- Cost is an importance factor to consider when it comes to conferences. Some conferences offer different rates (I.e. discounted rate for students) and sometimes institutions offer financial supports (I.e. through student learning grants).
- I have learnt a lot this last year about overcommitting to international conferences so having a think about how they might all fit together with what I am trying to write (and therefore share for feedback) is something I am working on!
Q4: What are your top tips for getting the most out of a conference?
- I've found it has worked well to reach out to a few people (not too many so you have a completely packed programme) to arrange for coffee or lunch. Be bold and reach out to someone you cite a lot but haven't had chance to chat to. But I also like meeting up with fellow ECRs too.
- I have learnt the hard way not to expect to go to everything on the programme. Choose a few panels each day (max) and then make sure you find space to relax, network and visit the host city too. You will get more out of it this way than sitting in panels all day.
Thanks again to all those who contributed! #DefResChat
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What we're reading
Edited by Veronika Poniscjakova
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The Falklands/Malvinas Conflict: Forty Years On
Louise A. Clare
This edited book examines different aspects of the Falklands War and provides a larger picture and broader scope of how the war played out. Some topics covered include joint amphibious and land force's support operations, US ‘Shuttle Diplomacy’, the importance of hospital ships, and how the Falklands War is remembered and narrated through the eyes of the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands. The volume also includes previously unheard first-hand accounts from veterans.
You can get a copy here.
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Countering Terrorist and Criminal Financing: Theory and Practice
Scott N Romaniuk, Christian Kaunert, Amparo Pamela H Fabe
This edited book focuses on critical issues in countering the financing of terrorism and organised crime. The book includes many case studies from different regions and outlines how different states and groups approach the issue, and what legal measures, social policies, military operations and security force responses they have embraced. The book also includes case studies on how different groups operate and finance their activities, for instance, there is a case study on ISIS and its sources of income.
You can get a copy here.
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Events...
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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Click on the images below to find out more about these upcoming events.
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On Monday the 4th of December at 4 pm, the Irish Association for Contemporary European Studies is pleased to invite you to this webinar on Dr Huw Bennett's latest book.
Chaired by IACES President, Dr Giada Lagana (Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University), the event will explore how Uncivil War reveals the full story of how the British army acted to save Great Britain from disaster during the most violent phase of the Northern Ireland conflict.
Huw Bennett's study shows how the army's ambivalent response to loyalist violence undermined the prospects for peace and heightened Catholic distrust in the state. British strategy consistently underestimated community defence as a reason for people joining or supporting the IRA whilst senior commanders allowed the army to turn in on itself, hardening soldiers to the suffering of ordinary people. By 1975 military strategists considered the conflict unresolvable: the army could not convince Catholics or Protestants that it was there to protect them and settled instead for an unending war.
Discussants will be Dr Thomas Leahy (Cardiff University and author of The intelligence war against the IRA); and Dr Eleanor Leah Williams (Oxford University).
All Welcomed!
Register here and you will receive a zoom link on Monday morning:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uncivil-war-the-british-army-and-the-troubles-19661975-tickets-768234970477?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Opportunities...
If you would like to advertise any upcoming opportunities, please let us know via email.
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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Manchester University Press are looking for reviewers for the forthcoming book, Precision by James Patton Rogers, which publishes worldwide on 5th December 2023.
The book provides new insights into the history of American warfare, as well as an analysis of contemporary warfare. Tracing the desire for precision within American strategic thought back through the last century, it covers both American experience of war during the 20th century, as well as contemporary hi-tech and drone warfare.
James Patton Rogers is the Executive Director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University. He has been an expert advisor to the United Nations Security Council, UK Parliament and is the NATO Country Director of the Full Spectrum Drone Warfare project supported by NATO SPS. He was also the host of the Warfare podcast by History Hit.
If you would like to receive a review or inspection copy of this title, please fill out this short form.
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📢 CALL FOR INTERVIEWEES 📢
Tara Zammit, a PhD candidate in War Studies at King's College London, is researching integration, inclusion, and service experiences in the British Armed Forces. For this project, she is looking to interview serving personnel and veterans (women and LGBTQ+ individuals), as well as charity/NGO/policy officials and researchers/academics working on these subjects.
If you're interested in taking part, please contact Tara at tara.zammit@kcl.ac.uk for further information.
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Click on the images below to find out more about these opportunities.
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The FiMT Research Centre has a directory of current research on their website that is constantly growing! You can have a look at what research is currently underway by searching themes, methods or by keywords - https://www.fimt-rc.org/research/ongoing-research. If you are doing research that is not on there, get in touch with the FiMT Research Centre Team and they can add it. Their email address is: team@fimt-rc.org.
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Call for Papers: Narratives of Moral Injury in European and International Contexts
An interdisciplinary conference taking place in person in Durham, UK
8-10 April 2024
Moral injury refers to the experience of sustained and enduring negative moral emotions - guilt, shame, contempt and anger - that results from the betrayal, violation or suppression of deeply held or shared moral values. It was first observed in military members who experienced ongoing negative moral emotions such as shame, guilt, anger, contempt and disgust after serving in combat environments. It is now being recognised in non-combat military roles and in civilians caught up in conflict as well.
We at the International Centre for Moral Injury, Durham University, are pleased to share the Call for Papers for our 2024 conference. We welcome paper proposals from all academic disciplines (deadline Friday 15 December 2023).
If you are not in a position to submit a paper proposal but would like to consider attending the conference or would like to receive occasional updates about moral injury-related events and resource, you can register for our mailing list.
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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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December: Looking ahead to 2024
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We hope you've enjoyed our news, tips and recommendations so far. In case you missed our previous newsletter editions, check out our archive section here!
As usual, 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 with' pieces with more established academics. And let us know about any relevant events, from book launches to webinars. We'll keep an eye on our Twitter account to keep you posted!
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.
See you soon and many thanks for being part of our network!
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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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