The deteriorating security situation in Eastern Europe and across the Baltic Sea region has amplified the need to rethink defence strategies, collaborations, and organisation. Recent years have also seen a shift in many countries’ security and defence policies and practices.

The 17th biennial ERGOMAS conference will take place 1-5 July 2024 in Stockholm Sweden at Södertörn University.

For many countries, the deteriorating security situation in Eastern Europe and across the Baltic Sea region has amplified the need to rethink defence strategies, collaborations, and organisation. Recent developments, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and subsequent invasion of Ukraine, along with economic instability, mounting challenges posed by influence campaigns and cyber attacks, along with problems of energy production and supply, have shown that no single alliance, organisation or nation can resolve such complex challenges alone. Recent years have also seen a shift in many countries’ security and defence policies and practices – Sweden and Finland’s decisions to apply for NATO membership being two examples of such change. In addition, countries across Europe and beyond continue to increase defence spending and to seek ways to improve civil defence and popular resilience.

For research, these developments raise questions about shifting relations between military organisations and their societies, as well as about their impact on technological development, military professionalism, popular support, issues of recruitment and retention, and on emerging forms of defence and security collaborations across national, organisational, and professional boundaries. We encourage discussion in these areas, as well as other key topics of research in the military and society domain.

The European Research Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS) is an interdisciplinary, international scientific association devoted to collaborative research on military and society. It is a public, non-profit, and politically and ideologically independent professional organization of scientists. Its purposes are pursued through the activities of its Working Groups and a biennial conference. The conference is a collaboration between ERGOMAS, the Swedish Centre for Studies of Armed Forces and Society and the School of police studies at Södertörn University.