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!
3...2...1...liftoff! Welcome to another edition of the monthly Defence Research Newsletter. I am especially excited to introduce the February theme on Outer Space. This is the thematic domain of my own PhD thesis as well as my fellow DRN Committee member, Scott Mackey. We have both very much enjoyed taking the lead on this month's newsletter therefore.
Before we proceed (I promise this editorial won't take long!) I just wanted to reflect on the positive reception our 'space' theme received. We have welcomed all of your contributions and it has been wonderful to see the DRN's cosmic expansion into Earth's orbits! As I hope the 'In Conversation' and 'Researcher Spotlight' sections will highlight in particular, outer space is an ever growing academic field garnering interest from an array of research disciplines and scholarly backgrounds. All I think, have exciting and important insights for our encounters with outer space.
In this edition, we are thrilled to share our In Conversation with Dr Bleddyn Bowen, Associate Professor, Astropolitics and Space Warfare at the University of Leicester. We thank Dr Bowen for his generous responses concerning his own research experience on space strategy, space policy and military thinking. It is also a pleasure to Spotlight researchers from varying stages of academic career who are working or have worked on space-related issues. Here too, there is a rich and diverse collective of research that we hope will inspire and launch your own reflections on our (international) relations with space.
Before we delve into all of this however, we would first like to share our timeline of Newsletter themes for the coming months. As usual, please do reach out if there is something you would like to contribute or share with us regarding the thematic areas listed. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome so please drop us a line!
Stay cool,
Tegan Watt Harrison
Newsletter Editor
Defence Research Network
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DRN Newsletter Themes for 2024
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As we close month two of 2024 (already!) we would like to share our upcoming Newsletter themes for the year ahead. As always, we would welcome any and all contributions. If there is a thematic area of particular interest for you then please get in touch!
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DRN events 2024 - we want to hear from you
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Dear DRN Community,
In the past couple of years, we have organised dozens of events - various workshops, seminars, networking events, and many others. Now, we would like to hear from you, and see what kind of events you would like us to organise for you this year.
Please fill out this form to let us know your thoughts or email us at defenceresearchnetwork@gmail.com.
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In Conversation: Dr Bleddyn Bowen
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In Conversation with Dr Bleddyn Bowen
Associate Professor, Astropolitics and Space Warfare
University of Leicester
What attracted you to the study of space and spacepower?
I got into Strategic Studies as an undergraduate at Aberystwyth, and when looking at modern warfare and US military technology the role of space was unavoidable, though it was something many scholars did not really want to dwell on. I was into seapower a lot at the time as well, and was surprised that such little attention was given to spacepower given that it was delivering many of the same kind of strategic and logistical impacts as seapower, in an abstract sense. It also meant I could talk about outer space in a real, practical, and meaningful sense for international relations and military strategy, and not in a mad Moon Base or supervillain sort of way – things that plague the field to this day.
Why is important to humanise space in academia?
We have the ‘Humanising Space’ research agenda at the University of Leicester because we know that space is just another place the human story is playing out. Space is not just for STEM researchers and practitioners. We all have our own contributions to make in studying and researching space activities, and importantly in understanding the impact of the Space Age on humanity and our political and social systems. Here at Leicester we have a number of non-STEM space researchers, from Law to Business to Archaeology and of course Politics and International Relations. The Space Age is creating problems and raising questions that can’t be answered by purely scientific methods, like any other aspect of human activity. Technocrats and scientists should not be left to their own devices when space systems increasingly shape our everyday lives.
What do you see as the biggest debates in air and space power at the moment?
It seems to be about bringing mass and attritional thinking back in following the events in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh in particular, or rather how much can be brought in when the budgetary appetite isn’t there. Though some of us have argued about the need for strategic depth, vast stockpiles of munitions, spare parts, and fuel, and affordable losses for a while, it is good to see it getting the attention it needs. There are some techno-centric voices out there who believe the latest technological fad (e.g. Artificial Intelligence) can allow smaller human forces that can somehow still do everything we asked of the MoD in the Cold War, but they seem to be diminishing in visibility, thankfully. There’s no substitute for replacements, reserves, and mass when you really need them. The almost near-absence of nuclear weapons in British strategy debates and military commentary is a strange one. Its absence is rather absurd given how much of the defence budget it consumes, and the supposed supreme faith our political and military leaders say they have in it.
How did you develop your approach to spacepower?
Unlike many working on modern warfare I devoted most of my research to reading strategic theory in depth and as broadly as I could. There are many military strategy works out there on space and other modern warfare issues but they are so unsatisfyingly thin in their reading of the classics of strategic theory that they purport to venerate, or sometimes unleash a hatchet job against the classics such as Clausewitz, Corbett, Castex, and Musashi. My PhD was a theoretical project as I found so much of the existing spacepower literature and commentary kept getting theory wrong, and as a result, produced muddled strategic thinking on shaky epistemological foundations. Once I was happy with theory I could start making connections between things in modern strategy and techno-industrial trends others hadn’t, which informs my approach today. Like Clausewitz advocated, I think I can switch between the general big pictures of strategy and politics on the one hand, the details of specific weapon systems and campaigns quite fluidly because I never lost interest in understanding modern warfare but got the benefit of having the time to read a lot of dense theory in my doctoral years. This has also given me a large dose of technological scepticisms and an appreciation for logistics which are a necessary corrective for the prevalent commentaries on war that focus on weapons, new technologies, and the fallacies of decisive battles at the expense of the political, emotional. mundane, and logistical dimensions.
What advice would you give PhD students and early career researchers that you wish someone had said to you?
Research is usually a non-linear process unless you’re a fundamentalist positivist. There are many different ways of doing good research. Whilst a PhD thesis has to tick certain boxes to be a PhD thesis, there are a variety of methods, ontologies, and epistemologies that you can use from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences to do what you want to do. Generally though, find an argument where people are clearly getting things wrong on some fundamental level or are ignoring something important to find a clear area for your research to go into. That said, nothing beats just sitting down and doing the reading, writing, and thinking. Stop putting it off. Just do it, you can’t get around it.
Also, when it comes to peer reviewers, examiners, or supervisors, go with good people with an eye for research design rather than the big names in your niche area unless you can vouch for their character and constructive reviewing capabilities. If you can get your research to make sense to people outside of your area, and they can understand your research design and intent, then you’re doing something right. They’ll often be more incisive in asking good questions as outsiders.
For more information about Dr Bleddyn Bowen see here.
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Thank you to all who shared their research on outer space for this edition of the Newsletter. It was great to see the positive reception and the scope of the DRN community expand (into the cosmos!). We loved reading the contributions and hope you do too.
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Dr Timothy Peacock
I am an Early Career Research at the University of Glasgow, as a Lecturer in History and War Studies.
I am also founder and Co-Director of the University's Arts and Humanities-based cross- disciplinary Games and Gaming Lab (UofGGamesLab) since its creation in 2019.
Alongside working on Nuclear History, Games/Gaming, and AI, one of my main areas of research is Spaceflight History and Space Security.
Both my History/War Studies and UofGGamesLab projects feed into my space research. My work in this area ranges from studying NASA files, newspapers, declassified documents and videos, to leading teams designing research-led tabletop crisis games and simulations about space scenarios, including providing consultancy for external organisations. Other aspects of my research involve studying video games featuring space and analysing sources around different representations of space conflict or disasters.
My most recent short article on space is around historical memory in space exploration video gaming, 'Astroneer and the Paradoxes of Memory’, and I have previously been invited to speak about my research on BBC Radio 3 on different programmes, on such topics as space junk/space security and underlying reasons for different countries sending people into space (including strategic/military).
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Marissa Martin
PhD Title: Comparing Cases: How middle powers fit into the space power dynamic
Marissa Martin is a PhD candidate at the Freeman Air and Space Institute and the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London. Her research uses three contextual elements to understand how middle powers may shape their space policies. This includes looking at how middle powers and close allies respond to the shifting security environment, how they react to the changing character of conflict, and how their individual relationships with the United States may affect their space policy formation. The project aims to understand the drivers of change underlying middle power space policy formation and identify any potential themes in their policy development. To do so, the research undertakes three comparative case studies– the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Marissa earned her MA in Security Policy Studies with a concentration in science and technology from George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, DC and her BA in International Relations from Florida International University in Miami, FL. She has previously worked as a Public Affairs Intern for US Embassy Bern and as a counterspace intern for the Secure World Foundation.
Marissa can be contacted via Linkedin.
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Dr James WE Smith
Dr James WE Smith is the Laughton-Corbett Research Fellow at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London.
One of his post-PhD research projects focuses on the applicability of maritime strategy and the experience of navies in thinking through the use of space in national defence strategy and for space strategy itself. He recently delivered new research based on never-before-seen records about the roots of the first space race and where the origins of space being viewed as a military and strategic domain came from. He has also lectured in the United States about navies in space and the potential shape of defence forces in space in the intermediate and distant future.
Interconnected with his PhD that he completed in 2021, whose topic focused on the relationship between UK and US defence organisation and strategy-making, he wrote to critical acclaim that debate on the defence use of space needed urgent ‘upskill’ and to exercise caution over the creation of Space Forces. The scientific community and space administrations awarded James Fellow Status for his efforts to explain what was happening in space with defence and intelligence to the broader community who are using or studying space. Furthermore, he argued that the debate needed a comprehensive set of inputs about what humanity’s future in space might look like, rather than becoming just a matter of air power or ‘science and commerce versus defence’ issue.
He has forthcoming publications on space, and you can follow his work at https://www.jameswesmith.space/
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Julia Balm
Julia Balm is a Research Associate and PhD Candidate at the Freeman Air and Space Institute (FASI) in the School of Security Studies, King’s College London. Her thesis builds a theoretical framework for the New Space Age and examines the needs and motivations of space strategy. The result of this research project is an interdisciplinary space power theory that uses structural similarities to apply an established psychological theory to an entirely new space strategy context. She also currently teaches the Royal Air Force officer courses on air and space power at the UK Defence Academy. Most recently, she has worked in the House of Lords as a Parliamentary Researcher providing academic rigour to space policy decision making. In her Research Associate post, she’s researching areas such as the terrestrial effects of space war, imaginations of modern and future space weapons, and strategic approaches to space sustainability issues. She hopes to continue introducing interdisciplinary thinking to the space domain, offering new perspectives on established concepts and bridging the gap between sectors.
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Tegan Watt Harrison
Tegan Watt Harrison is a PhD candidate in Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University's School of Law and Politics. Her thesis is situated in Critical War Studies looking specifically at the affective power of the threat of space war in the context of United Nations agenda 'prevention of an arms race in outer space'. Focusing on (space) war's ontology, she draws on political philosophy and international political sociology in particular to develop and apply a "martial assemblages" approach in this context. Undertaking a comprehensive document analysis for the period 1981-2023, she identifies three main ontic practices that form her empirical chapters: strategic defence, counterspace, and sustainability. The project hopes to contribute to the study of war beyond, solely, war-as-fighting and to the political organization of space warfare, its preparation, affectations, and movement at the empirical site of arms control.
Tegan is also the DRN Newsletter Editor and a member of the BISA Astropolitics Working Group for whom, she will be chairing a panel - Space Strategy, Surveillance, and Threats - at the upcoming conference in June where she will also be presenting a research paper - Orbits in the aftermath: framing ASATs in the PAROS assemblage. She encourages any space enthusiast not currently a member to join the working group! It's an eclectic bunch of researchers at all stages of academic career and all are welcome!
You can find Tegan (virtually!) here and here.
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Alexandre Manhães
Alexandre Manhães is a PhD candidate at the Brazilian Air Force University (UNIFA).
The insertion of private actors has made space assets cheaper and faster to be manufactured. This current movement is providing access to outer space to a variety of states and widening the possible endeavours in orbit and beyond, such as going back to the Moon, heading to other planets, starting tourism in orbit, and mining asteroids. This situation towards the stars implies national interests, which are connected not only to commercial affairs but also to economic and political power, leading to an imperative of protecting aerospace assets – whichincludes in the Earth surface as well. This new space race has enhanced the militarisation of space and paved the way for the weaponisation of space, which is supposedly taking place with the creation of military institutions dedicated to space warfare. Alexandre Manhães' doctoral research, entitled 'Space Warfare and International Politics: implications for the Brazilian Air Force' touches these phenomena, and is specially interested in its trends and how they are unfolding to implicate politically and strategically to the countries. You can reach the author through manhaesam.91@gmail.com.
Alexandre has published an article co-authored with Gills Vilar-Lopes (UNIFA) on the strategic use of the Starlink program in the Russian-Ukraine War which looks to understand the impacts of space private actors in the War.
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News from our committee
Edited by Tegan Harrison
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Thank you for all your contributions to this edition's 'News from our Community'. It is wonderful to hear from you and we do enjoy sharing your work with our members. Please enjoy reading said contributions below!
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Dr Hannah West is giving a talk at the National Army Museum on 15 March at 12:00. All are welcome to join, in person or virtually. Find out more by clicking the image below!
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Dr Sharon McDonnell presented preliminary findings from the Armed Forces suicide bereavement study, at Suicide Bereavement UK’s international conference on the 28th September 2023.
The purpose of the study was to inform the development of Armed Forces suicide bereavement pack for serving personnel, veterans and families and is the first of its kind internationally. The findings from this study are relevant to those who come into contact with those bereaved by suicide who have lost someone to suicide who was serving or had previously served. She also believes that it is necessary for wider society/civilians to reflect on how we can better support the Armed Forces community.
To watch the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj8XYCm-KxI
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ABSTRACT FOR THERAPEUTIC HORTICULTURE AUSTRALIA CONFERENCE, MAY 2024.
Background:
In 2016 Anna Baker Cresswell spoke to the Therapeutic Horticulture Australia conference in Sydney about her Horticultural Therapy (HT) journey.
THA have invited Anna back to speak to again and this time, in addition to updating Conference about how HighGround’s HT service at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Stanford Hall coped through the pandemic, and how the service which marks its 10 year anniversary in 2024 has developed, Anna intends to use the Conference platform for another purpose.
Conference:
Thanks to funding from the Army Benevolent Fund and the late Duke of Westminster, in 2014 Anna started a 3 year pilot at DMRC Headley Court to test the benefits of HT as a rehab intervention for injured serving personnel.
The pilot was successful and when Headley Court closed and DMRC moved to Stanford Hall, HighGround’s HT service moved with it; a source of great pride to Anna.
DMRC Stanford Hall provides a key element of the tiered Defence Medical Rehabilitation Programme, delivering concentrated residential rehabilitation for complex musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, including complex trauma rehabilitation following neurological injury or illness, and in-patient care for joint and soft tissue disease. It also provides education and training in military rehabilitation and is the theme of the Academic Centre for Rehabilitation Research which is located there.
Anna has met and engaged with many individuals concerned with the rehabilitation and wellbeing of military personnel during the last decade, and the THA conference seems an ideal opportunity to share knowledge and best practise with other Five Eyes countries.
For more information about the Conference
Really hope to see you in Noosa!
anna@highground-uk.org
To follow HighGround at DMRC Stanford Hall please see here / https://www.instagram.com/annanorthumbrian/ https://twitter.com/HighGroundBoss
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Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique: The Importance of Specificity in Peace Treaties by Dr. Miranda Melcher is about to come out from Bloomsbury Academic!
This book helps explain how and why there are such diverging outcomes of UN peace negotiations and treaties for civil wars. The book uses unique primary source data, including interviews with key actors who have participated in peace treaty negotiations, as well as thousands of previously newly opened UN documents. She argues that treaty specificity is an undervalued - but important - factor in researching the success or failure of peace processes. The book offers new insights and policy recommendations for key details whose presence or absence can have a significant impact on how peace processes unfold.
Dr. Miranda Melcher received her PhD in Defense Studies from King’s College London. She received her MA in Intelligence and International Security from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and her BA in Political Science from Yale University. She is also a prolific host on the New Books Network podcast.
The DRN community can get 35% off the book via the publisher's website with the code GLR AR9 and Miranda is giving talks about the book at institutions including Queen's University Belfast, York University, and Cardiff University. If you or your institution would be interested in arranging a talk with Miranda, please contact her at miranda.melcher@gmail.com.
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Lewis Sage-Passant, a doctoral fellow at Loughborough University shares his security, intelligence, and geopolitics-focused site (https://encyclopediageopolitica.com/), which also includes the “How to get on a Watchlist” podcast. Encyclopedia Geopolitica can be found at all major social networking sites. Links below!
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What we have been listening to
Edited by Veronika Poniscjakova
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PODCAST SERIES
War in Space Podcasts
'War in Space is a monthly podcast that will demystify the debate about space and national security by explaining how geography and politics are projected into the space domain. We will unravel the technical jargon that floats around these discussions, illuminate the dark spaces and assess the quantifiable risks that have made such conversations increasingly worrying for the public.
Hosted by Juliana Suess, Policy Researcher for Space Security at the Royal United Services Institute, every episode will invite a guest to explore why people engaged in national security have been so seized by space in the last few years.' Royal United Services Institute (rusi.org)
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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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February Twitter Hour: Challenges of interdisciplinary research
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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February's #TwitterHour was a little different this month with the theme being 'challenges of interdisciplinary research'. Thank you very much to all those who engaged with the four questions. Below, we share the highlights! #DefResChat
Q1: What are your experiences of building bridges between different academic fields that address the same topic?
- Even if they address the same topics, they do it from a different angle and for different audiences (sometimes). So, it is important to remember the narrative, language and methodological approach so your point can come across as intended.
- Being able to demonstrate the value arising from one field of study doesn’t always mean a different specialty will see/find the same value Consider other’s perspective and be willing to learn/adapt your knowledge base to best assist them.
- I didn’t fully appreciate how intrinsically interdisciplinary; my research would be. Fortunately, I’ve found that – despite (often humorous) suggestions of academic siloism – that reaching out to others within the field has been surprisingly easy, and fruitful. The common theme from those I’ve reached out to has been that ‘we were there once too’. There’s never anything to lose by reaching out!
- When I have needed to embrace a new set of literature/subfield, I often feel initially overwhelmed and then when I get stuck into it I've tended to find that when you see passed different language/terminology used you start to find lots of crossover and they are not so different.
- From my own perspective, I have needed to engage with law and legal critiques. I found reaching out at conferences and to peers in my own department very helpful. Although you might be coming at topic from a different perspective, respecting the expertise of another field is super important and helps build the knowledge foundation for your project regardless.
- We have found real value in bringing different academic fields together to discuss the same topic as quite often it's the first time those individuals have been in the same room together. In our experience it has fostered some really great discussions!
- This approach is one we take for senior officer programming to encourage them to look at an issue from angles they may not have considered, to hear a variety of voices, and to encourage critical thinking.
Q2: How have you approached studying in an emerging, or discrete field where there is limited existing scholarship or experience?
- The beauty of humanities and social sciences is that it tends to promote interdisciplinary engagement. Although I’m rooted in War Studies via Outer Space (& vice versa) building my analytical framework has utilised concepts from a range of disciplines. I’ve found focusing on how a select number of work apply such a framework a useful grounding exercise for writing and helps limit the “getting lost” aspect of diving into sometimes unfamiliar territory!
- My approach has been to read everything I can get my hands on related to my field to really develop a breadth and depth of knowledge. Though perhaps not the most effective use of time, it’s been the most valuable exercise I’ve undertaken thus far, helping me to identify a way forward, and establish a ‘me-sized gap’ to fit myself into. I’ve also found that ‘going wide’ has helped build my network, exposing me new and novel opinions that I might not have otherwise considered.
Q3: What advice would you give to researchers navigating their interdisciplinary journey?
- I have found knowing where to publish in different fields can be difficult. I find it best to ask someone who has published in the respective field or look at where scholars I respect have been publishing as well as where what I have been reading comes from.
- I think it's fun being interdisciplinary! Especially when you find something from one field that can have valuable application in another. And you have more conferences/events to choose from! It can be a bit unsettling if you feel a bit homeless but talking to others helps.
- Keep an open mind
- Connect with others researching your topic through their unique lens
- Scan bibliographies to see how others are approaching their work through an interdisciplinary lens for ideas on how to innovate in your space We have so much to learn from one another!
- Try to find out if your department & faculty are truly behind interdisciplinarity, especially when it comes to the dreaded REF assessments. There can be a lot more 'talk' than 'walk' when it comes to interdisciplinary work.
- Enjoy the encounters! It can be a scary enterprise building frameworks and critiques using ideas and concepts from areas you feel uncomfortable grappling with. But this is also what makes academic research so exciting; push back the boundaries of knowledge!
- It’s really about the basics: remember that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and remember that it’s okay to say you don’t know or understand something fully. Everything might seem daunting, especially in the early months and years, but your supervisors and peers will likely have come across something similar. We’re constantly told that interdisciplinary work is fun – it is we just need to remember that!
Q4: Can you recommend any books or journals that focus on interdisciplinary research?
- There has been a fairly recent special issue in the European Journal of International Relations entitled Interdisciplinarity and the IR Innovation Horizon which scaffolds interdisciplinary adventures in IR. I have also found John Law’s After Method: mess in social science research to be both an inspiring and reassuring text!
Thanks again to all those who contributed! #DefResChat
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What we're reading
Edited by Veronika Poniscjakova
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Theorising Future Conflict: War Out to 2049
Mark Lacy
The book explores the changing landscape of 21st-century warfare, rejecting the notion of a complete eradication of violence and predicting China's rise as a military power by 2049. The book suggests that future war will be shaped by three broad tendencies that include a broad range of tactics, technologies and trends; the impure, the granular and the machinic. Despite novel challenges, the book suggests that future warfare will grapple with familiar problems in unprecedented geopolitical and technological contexts.
You can get a copy here.
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Ethics at War: How Should Military Personnel Make Ethical Decisions?
Deane-Peter Baker, Rufus Black, Roger Herbert, Iain King
In this book, four prominent thinkers propose and debate competing approaches to ethical decision-making for military personnel of liberal democratic states. Deane-Peter Baker introduces 'Ethical Triangulation,' Rufus Black advocates for a natural law-based approach, Roger Herbert outlines the 'Moral Deliberation Roadmap,' and Iain King presents a quasi-utilitarian model. Philosopher David Whetham concludes the book, highlighting areas of agreement, and key differences, and suggests directions for future research.
You can get a copy here.
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Events...
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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Click on the images below, or follow the links, to find out more about these upcoming events.
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Dr Sophy Antrobus, a DRN committee alumni who currently sits on the Committee of the RAF Historical Society shares an exciting upcoming event. The spring seminar hopes to reach out to a wider audience - and current students/researchers in particular.
For more information on both the RAF Historical Society and this event, see here.
Details on the schedule and sign-up procedure is included below.
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If you would like to attend this seminar,
1. E-mail your name (plus those of any guests), address, telephone number and car registration number, if driving, to both colincummings@tiscali.co.uk and jboyes5652@aol.com indicating your intention to attend, and
2. Please send a payment of £25 (per head) to Barclays Bank, Sort Code 20-90-56, A/C No 20766879.
We hope you can come along. Coffee is available from 9.45am on the day, lunch is provided and parking is provided free if you send in your car registration number as detailed above.
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Narratives of Moral Injury in European and International Contexts
An interdisciplinary conference taking place on 8-10 April 2024 in person in Durham, UK
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 is distinct from PTSD in that moral injury involves a profound sense of broken trust in ourselves, our leaders, governments and institutions to act in just and morally "good" ways. Moral injury was first observed in military members who experienced ongoing negative moral emotions after serving in combat environments. It is now being recognised in non-combat military roles as well as other professions, such as nursing and medicine. It is also being studied in other contexts; for example among survivors of abuse and refugees.
This conference will bring together people working within frameworks in the arts and humanities, social sciences, psychology and psychiatry, social care, medicine, and chaplaincy, among others, to discuss moral injury experienced in the military and beyond.
It is organised by the International Centre for Moral Injury at Durham University. Registration is open until 13 March.
See the programme and find out more
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Precision by James Patton Rogers, is now available worldwide.
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.
The DRN community can also get 30% off the book if they order directly from the publisher's website, and use the discount code WARFARE30 at checkout: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526125880/
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Announcements...
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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JMVFH 10.1 is now available online!
This general edition contains research and reviews spanning topics such as chronic pain, moral injury, mental health, employment, and more. Don’t miss out – read our latest edition today!
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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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Click on the images below, or follow the links, to find out more about these upcoming opportunities.
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RAF Museum 2024 Call for Speakers: Lecture Series
Organiser: Royal Air Force Museum
Place and Date: Virtual, or onsite at the Royal Air Force Museum (London and Midlands), Lancaster and Wolverhampton. Dates TBC upon selection of applications.
Application Deadline: 1 March 2024.
Submission Type: Abstract, plus a biography and talk title.
Form of Submission: Maximum 300 words in English. Biographies should be no more than 200 words.
Applications to be sent to: megan.kelleher@rafmuseum.org
More information: RAF Museum 2024 Call for Speakers: Lecture Series - RAF Museum
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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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March: International Women's Day
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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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