The position and role of the military have been changing dramatically as territorial defence replaces interventionism as its main purpose in the Netherlands and many other European countries. The changing global landscape and the military’s new role raise questions about the re-orientation of defence policy, changing civil-military relations, and the societal and academic contexts in which these developments unfold and are debated. We aim at stimulating this debate with a series of talks and discussions at the VU, EUR, and RU.

This event series is organized by the NWO-funded Armed Forces & Society project, a collaboration between Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, and Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. Read more about the project here.

Our next event

30 October 2026, 12.00-13.30

Parliaments and the Armed Forces: Understanding Variations in Oversight
with Stephen M. Saideman (Director at the Canadian Defence and Security Network & the Civil-Military Relations Network, Professor at Carleton University)

Democracies vary in the role their parliaments play in their civil-military relations. Stephen M. Saideman will present findings from a comparative study of 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, the USA, the UK, France, Sweden, Brazil, and South Korea.

Sign up here to secure your spot (and lunch)

Past events

9 September 2026: "De groeiende rol van oorlog en defensie in de samenleving". Radboud Reflects public lecture with Tine Molendijk and Wolfgang Wagner.

3 March 2026: "A Critical Review of Conscription" with Sven Altenburger. For EUR students and staff.

21 January 2026: "Studying the Civil-Military Nexus" with contributions from Rasa Smaliuniekė (Military Academy of Lithuania), Huib Zijderveld (Dutch Defense Academy), and Wolfgang Wagner (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam).

2 December 2025: "The changing role of the armed forces in society" with Jori Kalkman, Associate Professor at the Netherlands Defence Academy & Wageningen University.