The Practice of Soldier-Scholars
Like many other practitioners that conduct research, military officers with a PhD are often confronted with conflicting identities. Military officers, supposedly, are hierarchical, collective-minded, and rigid whereas researchers are supposed to be critical, individualistic, and nuanced. Although certainly a caricature, the course aims to introduce and develop analytical tools to better deal with and reflect over these dual identities.
Do you become a better researcher on war and military operations if you are an officer and do you become a better officer if you are a researcher? How do these roles and identities interact in the research process as well as in the military profession?
The course is primarily, but not exclusively, catered for military PhD candidates and runs with weekly seminars on Zoom with a concluding on-site in Stockholm workshop to also further networking among international soldier-scholars.
Course provider: Swedish Defence University, Department of War Studies
Course director: Professor Jan Ångström.
Course dates 2026: week 19-23