Interested in all things defence? Take a peek inside our

Monthly Members' Newsletter

The official flower of the military child is the Dandelion. Why? The plant puts down roots almost anywhere, and it’s almost impossible to destroy. It’s an unpretentious plant, yet good looking. It’s a survivor in a broad range of climates. Military children bloom everywhere the winds carry them. They are hardy and upright. The roots are strong, cultivated deeply in the culture of the military, planted swiftly and surely. They’re ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends.

Experts say that military children are well-rounded, culturally aware, tolerant, and extremely resilient. Military children have learned from an early age that home is where their hearts are, that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world and in every color, and that education doesn’t just come from school. They live history. They learn that to survive means to adapt, that the door closes one chapter of their life opens up to a new and exciting adventure full of new friends and new experiences.
Anonymous 

The study of warfighting, militaries, and soldiering has been practised for millennia. Humans have lamented the rules and ethics of war, its motivations, equipment, tactics, and outcomes since long before academia took notice, and arguably before the advent of writing itself. However, what rarely gets a mention in conventional war studies courses is the impact of soldiering on children and families. The literature on war has historically largely addressed children as a suffix to women, framing them as either innocently (and silently) protected or as collateral damage in wartime. The voices of children within military communities can subsequently get lost, even while appearing central to both jus ad bellum and jus in bello.

Conversely, a brilliant body of research spanning psychology, psychiatry, education, and increasingly social and political sciences puts these voices at the centre of their understanding of the military. This has opened up new avenues of inquiry into the sociological and psychological impacts of war and militarisation. Celebrating Month of the Military Child this April, a number of DRN members have been hard at work in this field, bringing us thought-provoking blogs and asking important questions about how military children learn, support one another, and understand their situation. We really want to spotlight this work and, particularly as a community of researchers that includes ex-service personnel, join the conversation around military families. You will find a couple of calls for participants below which involve exciting research into the experiences of military children relating to both education and mental health. I encourage anyone eligible to volunteer their time and share these calls with your networks.

I began this month's newsletter with the Dandelion Poem, and particularly this rendition by British charity Little Troopers, to reflect upon and celebrate the resilience of military children. Whatever your situation or background, resilience is a virtue that many of us have had to muster this year more than ever. I would say that we have much to learn from these dandelions, and I am excited to see how they touch academia in the years to come.

As always, we wish you a happy and healthy month!

The DRN Team 

Chaired by DRN co-founder Dr Sophy Antrobus, and featuring Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, the author of the Wigston report, this online event marks the start of the Institute’s journey to promote diversity and commit to better representation of women in the air and space power arena.

They are inviting us to hear from some amazing role models in academia, air and space power research, the RAF and industry. From the role of UK Space Strategy, to industry’s role in supporting the air and space power community, to research on women’s bodies in RAF aviation medicine, the panel will touch on a diverse range of challenges and opportunities for diversifying air and space power.

Panellists Include:

• Wing Commander Jemma Austin, CAS Fellow, Aviation Medicine Researcher
• Julia Balm, FASI Post Graduate Researcher
• Katherine Bennett, Senior Vice President, Airbus
• Air Commodore Suraya Marshall, Commandant, RAF Cranwell

For more information see their website, and to register, head to Eventbrite.

In 2021 they're going virtual! Taking the provocation of ‘forgetting’ International Studies, #BISA2021 offers an opportunity both to critically engage with this period of global change and to reflect upon the possibilities and limitations of the discipline in confronting it. Highlights include three fantastic keynotes featuring Professor Gary Younge, Dr Agnes Callamard and more, 100+ panels, an art exhibition, and an IR quiz. For more information and to register, click here.

• Comparative studies of British violence across temporal contexts;
• Geographies of state-sponsored violence and/or sites of ‘lesson-learning’;
• Political cultures of military interventionism within British structures;
• The archives of public inquiries and truth commissions in documenting violence and state transgressions; 
• The prosecution of state-sponsored violence in international courts and limitations of state-accountability systems; 
• The usefulness of the concepts of ‘truth’, ‘justice’, ‘accountability’ to understand lesson-learning processes; 
• Informal processes of lesson-learning;
• Media representations of military interventions in British society; 
• Ethics of national security, declassified documents, and the use covert intelligence in public inquiries; 
• Anti-war activism and political cultures of dissent.

You can read more about e50K on their website. They currently have a survey out about their digital project. If their work applies to you, please fill out the survey and see what e50K can do for you.

You can find the survey here.

• What got you into your field of study in the first place?

• What advice would you like to give PhD students and early career researchers that you wish someone had said to you?

• What are your top tips for getting published?