International Society of Military Sciences

The International Society for Military Sciences (ISMS) is an international organization whose stated aim is to build a strong network for the creation, development, exchange and diffusion of research and knowledge about war, conflict management and peace support efforts. The ISMS was founded in October 2008. The Austrian National Defence Academy, the Royal Military College of Canada, the Royal Danish Defence College, the Finnish National Defence University, the Netherlands Defence Academy, the Norwegian Education Command, the Swedish National Defence College and the Baltic Defence College established this society with the intention to further research and academic education in military arts and sciences in the broadest sense.

Establishing the ISMS
In the summer of 2007 the Faculty of Military Sciences, Netherlands Defence Academy, started working on more international collaboration on an institutional level. Canada, Sweden and Austria were the first military institutes and universities which were approached for collaboration. Soon four other institutes joined in. In November 2011, the National Defence University of Warsaw and the Royal Military Academy (Belgium) were voted in.

Letter of Intent
The formal signing of the Letter of Intent was on October 22, 2008 in Copenhagen. That day the participating academies also decided to formally present the ISMS in November 2009 during its first annual international conference. The theme of this first conference was “Security in 2020 in a Multi-Polar World”.

Letter of Intent
1) The undersigned institutions of Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, and the Baltic Defence College (later referred to as the institutions) agree to establish a society intended to further research and academic education in military arts and sciences in the broadest sense. This association is titled International Society of Military Sciences (hereafter referred to as the Society). 2) The purpose of the Society is to build a network for the creation, development, exchange and diffusion of research and knowledge about war, conflict management and peace support efforts.

3) The Society will establish an annual conference, and one or more workshops per year. Activities include communications and publications to support a research network within topics such as: war studies; military history; military technology; command and control, leadership and basic competence; law and ethics; security and defence policy and strategy; armed forces and society; and defence economics and management. These are detailed in Annex A.

4) The representatives of the member institutions constitute the Council as the highest authority governing the Society. The Council elects a Board governing the Society.  The purpose of the Board is to initiate and coordinate the activities of the Society.  The institution hosting the annual conference provides the secretariat for the Society for the period of one year.

5) Society members commit themselves to organise and participate in various workshops, conference or working groups, with the understanding that they will endeavour to lead at least one working group or workshop and participate in at least two others. A tentative schedule of upcoming events is attached at Annex B. 6) The Society will be established for the four-year term in October 2008 upon signing of Letter of Intent by the institutions, and it is announced at the First Annual Conference. 7) The first Annual Conference will be held in November 2009. Invitations to participate in the Conference and to join the Society will be distributed widely.  The Council will consider applications for new membership by compatible organizations annually. However, participation in conferences and workshops is welcomed at any time.

Annual ISMS Conferences

 * In October 23-24, 2012, the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario will host the fourth annual ISMS conference. The ISMS will be calling for academic papers in all aspects of military and security studies in winter/spring 2012. The theme of the conference will be: “Balancing domestic and international security requirement”, focusing in particular on the high north, civil-military relations and budget austerity. Presenters will feature researchers, operationally experienced military personnel and policy makers. Both days will start with a plenary session, followed by multiple working group sessions and the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with other researchers and participants. Participation to the conference will be free of charge and open to anyone interested.


 * On November 8-10, 2011 the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia hosted the third annual ISMS conference. The theme was "Adapting to Modern Security Challenges." Keynote speakers were the Lithuanian Air Force Commander Major General Edvartas Mažeikis and Dr. Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian Minister of Education and Research. The closing summary was made by Professor Žaneta Ozoliņa of the University of Latvia.


 * On 10-11 November, 2010 the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm, Sweden hosted the second ISMS Conference. The theme was the need for further cooperation in defence related research projects. During the conference, scientists and scholars presented and discussed their research on Military Education; State Violence; Challenges facing small states I relation to security and defence; The future of Crisis Management; Gender and violence; and Defence technology – management and development in smaller states.


 * The first annual ISMS conference was hosted by the Netherlands Defence Academy on 25-26 November, 2009, at the Naval Barracks in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The theme was “Security in 2020 in a Multi-Polar World”. During the conference, scientists and scholars presented and discussed their research on conflict and warfare, ranging from the present conflict in Afghanistan to intelligence, military technology, and personnel management. Keynote speakers were Major-General (ret.) Patrick Cammaert, 2005-2007 Force Commander of the UN Mission to the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), Prof. Dr. Franz Kernic of the Swedish National Defence College and Dr. S.J.G. Reyn of the Policy Planning Staff, Dutch Ministry of Defence.

ISMS Fields of Research
The ISMS addresses the following fields of research;


 * War Studies
 * Military History
 * Military technology
 * Command and Control, Leadership and Basic Competence
 * Law and Ethics
 * Security and Defence, Policy and Strategy
 * Armed Forces and Society
 * Defence Management and Economics

ISMS working groups
The ISMS working groups are communities of research interest, with a lead institution, which dissemine knowledge within the community, and organize seminars at the annual conference.


 * War Studies
 * Military History
 * Military technology
 * Law and Ethics,
 * Security
 * Armed Forces and Defence Management
 * Military Medicine