Soldier-Scholar Conference 2025

We are delighted to invite you to the first Soldier-Scholar Conference of the Research School for War and Defence, to be held on 25-26 September at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm.

The core objective of the conference is to promote research relevant for professional military practices (such as warfighting, strategy and tactics, military organisation and profession, military leadership, military technology and defence planning), and to foster a strong international network of soldier-scholars.

The conference is structured around a key-note speaker, several panels, roundtables and a dinner. While paper presentations are reserved for military doctoral students and soldier-scholars who want to present their ongoing research, all are welcome to attend the conference and participate in the discussions.

Registration for the conference is now open! Deadline for registration: 7 September.

Soldier-Scholar Conference 2025 – Detailed Programme pdf, 293.3 kB.

See more information under "Conference Registration and Fees" below.

The annual conference is the core event of the Research School for War and Defence, which is an international research school for military doctoral students.

Papers

We welcome paper proposals from military doctoral students and soldier-scholars on topics relevant to professional military practices. Papers are grouped together by the conference organisers into thematic panels of 3-4 papers, a discussant and a chair.

Paper proposal submissions require an author, 3-5 key words, a paper title, and an abstract of maximum 200 words. All co-authors must be listed. Please, submit your proposal via the button below.

Note, paper presentations are only open to military doctoral students and soldier-scholars, i.e. military officers (including former officers) with a doctoral degree.

Roundtables

We welcome roundtable proposals from all on two themes. A Roundtable is a freer form of discussion consisting of several speakers who initiate a discussion on the theme of the roundtable (about 5-10 minutes each). Papers are not expected.

Roundtable 1: The Practice of Soldier-Scholars

Like many other researching practitioners, military officers with a doctoral degree are often confronted with the conflicting identities of being both a military officer and a researcher. What does it mean to be both a military officer and a researcher? This panel will discuss various aspects of the practices of soldier-scholars.

Roundtable 2: Doctoral Education for Military Officers

This panel will focus on the various pedagogical aspects of a doctoral education for military officers. Are there any differences when supervising military and civilian doctoral students? What role does mentorship play in doctoral education for military officers? How can the development of a soldier-scholar identity best be encouraged during the doctoral education?

Submissions for a roundtable presentation require a speaker and an abstract on one of the roundtable themes. Abstracts are limited to 200 words. Please, submit your proposal via the button below. Note, roundtables are open to everyone.

Discussant and Chair

Each paper panel will have a discussant and a chair. The discussant provides constructive feedback on the individual papers and highlight important takeaways from the panel. The chair coordinates the panel and moderates the questions from the audience.

Volunteer to serve as discussant or chair via the button below. 3-5 key words are required, to indicate your areas of expertise.

Note, all are welcome to volunteer for discussant or chair. You don’t have to present a paper or be a speaker at one of the roundtables to be a discussant or the chair of a panel.

Conference participation

All are welcome to attend the conference and to participate in the discussions! The registration for the conference opens 19 August.

Please note, you will only get an automated thank you-message as confirmation that we have received your application, no confirmation e-mail will be sent. We will get back to you with more information after the submission deadline.

Submission deadline: 18 August 2025.

Submit here

Paper proposals

Only open to military doctoral students and soldier-scholars, i.e. military officers (including former officers) with a doctoral degree. Paper proposal submissions require an author, 3-5 key words, a paper title, and an abstract of maximum 200 words. All co-authors must be listed.

Roundtable proposals

Open for all. Roundtable proposals require a speaker and an abstract on one of the roundtable themes: 1) The Practice of Soldier-Scholars; 2) Doctoral Education for Military Officers. Abstracts are limited to 200 words.

Discussant and chair

Open for all. You don’t have to present a paper or be a speaker at one of the roundtables to be a discussant or the chair of a panel. 3-5 key words are required, to indicate your expertise.

Thursday 25 September
12.00-13.00 Registration and Coffee
13.00-13.30 Introductory Remarks and Keynote Speaker
13.30-15.00 Panel I: Innovation, Restraint and the Use of Force
15.00-15.30 Coffee
15.30-17.00 Panel II: Command and Control and Military Decision Making
17.00-19.00 Reception in Mässen
19.00- Dinner

Friday 26 September
08.30-09.00 Coffee
09.00-10.30 Roundtable: The Practice and Education of Soldier-Scholars
10.30-12.00 Annual meeting of the Research School for War and Defence (members only)

Soldier-Scholar Conference 2025 – Detailed Programme pdf, 293.3 kB.

18 August 2025 – Submission Deadline
19 August 2025 – Registration Opens
7 September 2025 – Registration Deadline for Conference Participants

Registration is now open. Deadline for registration: 7 September.

Conference participation

Conference participation is free for all, including coffee and the reception on Thursday evening.

Conference dinner

Conference dinner on Thursday evening is free for paper and roundtable presenters, discussants and chairs. For those not appearing in the conference programme, the fee for the dinner will be 300 SEK.

Please note that travel and accommodation are not included in the conference fee. Participants are responsible for funding and arranging their own travel.

Contact Information

Kersti Larsdotter, Deputy Director of the Research School
Lydia Lundgren, Coordinator of the Research School