Conveners
Military Transformation: Military Innovation and Strategic Change in the Transatlantic Context
- Magnus Petersson (Stockholm University)
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Mr Dumitru-Catalin Vasile (National School of Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest, Romania)12/06/2026, 14:05Military TransformationPaper Abstract (Closed Panels)
Modern military strategy is undergoing a paradigm shift, moving away from a "platform-centric" model defined by the capabilities of individual assets such as tanks, fighter jets, and carriers toward a "network-centric" model prioritizing connectivity, data fusion, and multi-domain integration. While the operational necessity of this transition is widely accepted, this paper argues that the...
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Vasiliki Plessia Aravani (Diplomatische Academie Wien, University of Vienna)12/06/2026, 14:15Military TransformationPaper Abstract (Closed Panels)
The literature on military diffusion has traditionally treated alliances as transmission paths through which nationally developed military technologies are disseminated among allies. In this view, NATO is exclusively portrayed as a forum for standardization and doctrinal coordination rather than also a site of military innovation. This paper revisits this understanding by examining...
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Frank Kuhn (Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF))12/06/2026, 14:25Reserve ListPaper Abstract (Closed Panels)
In 2020, the United States deployed the W76 2 low-yield nuclear warhead on its ballistic missile submarines, marking a pivotal shift in a contentious, three decade Congressional debate over the role of low-yield nuclear weapons in U.S. nuclear policy. Congress first banned research and development on such weapons in 1993, partially repealed that prohibition in 2004, and then authorized an...
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Fabio Duarte (Czech Technical University / Charles University)12/06/2026, 14:35Reserve ListFull-length paper for the Best Paper Prize [max. 5.000 words]
The concepts of 'hybrid warfare' and 'hybrid threats' have expanded into a wide, heterogeneous set of typologies, primarily centred on instruments and actors. As the range of activities labelled “hybrid” continues to grow, existing approaches increasingly struggle to explain how diverse hybrid actions combine, interact, and generate systemic effects below the threshold of direct armed...
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Jordan Becker (United States Military Academy, West Point, Brussels School of Governance, Ecole de Guerre (IHEDN, IRSEM))Military TransformationPaper Abstract (Closed Panels)
Following the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, most research examining NATO's response has focused on member state pledges to increase defense spending to at least two percent of GDP. Far less attention has been paid to whether and how NATO members' \textit{military capabilities}--the outputs of defense investment--changed in response to threats from Russia. We...
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Kaija Schilde (Boston University)Military TransformationPaper Abstract (Closed Panels)
This paper challenges the conventional assumption that EU political development lacks a bellicist foundation. I argue that external threats have been a necessary condition driving EU integration throughout its history, and that the EU can be understood as a 21st century regulatory security state. Drawing on original archival research from the Jean Monnet archives, I demonstrate that European...
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