Call for Papers: Future of War Conference
Amsterdam, 26-28 October 2026
Organised by SST:CCW and the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy
Envisioning the future remains a central line of enquiry in the study of war. It is extremely difficult to imagine the character of future warfare, as there is a temptation to depend on existing concepts and cognitive expectations. Even more tempting is to indulge a form of technological determinism based on contemporary technologies. Nevertheless, both scholars and practitioners continue to conceptualize and model the future of war through a range of techniques and methodologies, such as professional wargaming and simulation, net assessment, cliodynamics, and strategic foresight and direction.
It is widely acknowledged that frontlines in contemporary conflicts have shown us glimpses of what future war might entail. For instance, the Russian invasion of Ukraine suggests that hyper-modern drone warfare will be a dominant area of contestation, while the war of Israel against Hamas illustrates the far-reaching impact of artificial intelligence on military decision-making. Yet, there are many other conflicts across the globe that receive far less attention in the study of future war, such as the jihadist expansion in Africa, border wars in Asia, or organized crime in Latin America.
The point of departure for this conference is the idea that the future of war is not universal. Warfare across the globe is moving in unforeseen directions, a process that is being driven by regional dynamics and practices of the past. This conference explores to what extent multiple futures – all with their idiosyncrasies – can be identified over time. By questioning the singular interpretation of the future, this conference seeks to move beyond a Western-dominated interpretation of war. Through comparing and contrasting a broader spectrum of approaches, this conference will examine to what extent these envisioned futures of war can co-exist, compete, or clash.
The Future of War Conference is a joint initiative of the Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology – Changing Character of War Centre of the University of Oxford and the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy. The key aim is to bring together scholars and practitioners from different academic disciplines, areas of expertise, and geographical backgrounds, to push the boundaries of the study of war. The organising committee invites proposals for panels and individual submissions for the next iteration of the conference, which will be held between 26-28 October 2026 at the Marine Etablissement Amsterdam (MEA), in the bustling capital city of the Netherlands. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
Immediate futures, such as climate security, artificial intelligence in decision-making, medical innovations for future battle place casualties, aging populations, and the rise of great power competition;
Near futures, which includes resource scarcity, nuclear proliferation, migration flows, and the fighting abilities of democracies, the era of robotics, and the role of international institutions and international law in constraining war;
Far futures, such as space exploration and mining, strategic conceptions of space warfare, and the end of nation states, as well as the emergence of AI and the end of the Anthropocene.
Panel proposals should consist of:
3 papers and 1 chair
300 words abstract for each paper
150 words bio for each contributor
Individual paper submissions should consist of:
300 words abstract
150 words bio
This conference seeks to host a diverse range of disciplinary and analytical approaches. We therefore extend the invitation to the widest possible range of academic disciplines, including historians, technologists, engineers, anthropologists, strategic theoretics, psychologists, military practitioners, mathematicians, political scientists, legal scholars, data scientists, economists, and philosophers.The submission deadline for panels and papers is 1 April 2026. Please submit your proposal via the online form at www.futureofwarconference.com. The organising committee will inform potential participants on the acceptance of their proposal by 1 May 2026. The deadline for the full conference paper, which is envisioned as an extended abstract of approximately 4000 words, is scheduled for 1 October 2026. We aim to publish a collection of papers as an edited volume with a high-ranking university press. For questions regarding the conference, kindly contact the organising committee at contact@futureofwarconference.com.
