ISMS 2024 hosted by the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, Sweden,
10-12 September 2024
ISMS 2024 theme
Scaling Up, Learning Lessons, Ensuring Quality
Against the backdrop of ongoing wars and political conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, alongside increasing tension between major powers in the India-Pacific, the armed forces in many countries are rebuilding their military capabilities and expanding their educational programs geared toward officers and other categories of military and auxiliary personnel. While seasoned political decision-makers and defence planners are well aware that it takes several years to create highly qualified military units and many rounds of exercises until they can operate effectively together, the urgency sensed in societies typically translates into substantially larger defence budgets that, in turn, allow for a relatively rapid scaling up of forces. Meanwhile, ongoing military conflicts require defence planners and educators to constantly re-evaluate existing doctrine and ways of warfare.
These developments evoke questions regarding the balance between an emphasis on size or quality and between what to absorb of new practices and technologies employed in warfare and what to pay less attention to. How do we bolster the size of defence forces as soon as possible while not compromising the quality of the forces that eventually are put together? How do we process the preliminary observations from wars in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and elsewhere so that we neither under- nor over-estimate their repercussions on the type of war we may face in the not-so-distant future?
The challenges associated with a rapid increase in defence budgets and the expansion of military organizations potentially affect all levels of military education, force generation, use of force and long-term defence planning, whether in a national setting or as part of an alliance such as NATO. But budget increases and force expansion also affect defence management, command and control, integrating new military technology, and fine-tuning warfighting concepts against national and international law.
Call for papers
Presentations, Full Papers, and Group Submissions
Two types of individual submissions are possible, each requiring a title (100-150 characters) and an abstract (250-400 words).
Authors of original Presentations will present their work orally with notes or slide decks in the working group session to which they are assigned by the organizers.
Authors of unpublished Full Papers will upload a conference paper (4,000-8,000 words) to the Conference site no later than 2 September 2024. Full papers will receive peer review and comment to develop them for publication.
Group submissions can be proposed in as special panels, roundtables or thematic sessions joining two or more working groups. Please indicate the point of contact for group submissions.
Please upload abstract submissions to the Conference Website before 30 April 2024, indicating your preferred working group and whether you will give a presentation or full paper. Notification of abstract acceptance will be received by 31 May 2024. Full papers are required by 2 September for review and comment.
Submission
Please upload your abstract for papers through our abstract site .
Please note that the Orch ID is optional.
Authors are invited to send submissions that touch on the challenges of scaling up defence forces while learning lessons and sustaining high levels of quality. But they are also invited to submit proposals addressing generic or topical issues of concern to any of the ten ISMS working groups:
War Studies, Operations & Tactics
Military History
Military Technology
Military Leadership, Command and Control and Basic Competences
Military Law and Ethics
Security and Defense Policy Strategy
Armed Forces and Society
Defence Management and Economics
Professional Military Education
Military Strategy
The ISMS is a network of peer institutions for military education and research in democratic countries. It is a network for creating, developing, exchanging and disseminating research and knowledge about war, conflict management and peace support efforts.
For questions about abstract submission, please contact Invajo at abstracts+isms2024@invajo.com
For questions about registration, travel and accommodation contact ISMS2024@akademikonferens.se
