Call for papers - Workshop "War, Militarism, and Society: Organising Life for Destruction" - University of Liège

The workshop will take place at the University of Liège on 1 and 2 December 2026, hosted by the Centre for the Study of War and Violence as part of the FNRS-funded WEAPONS research project. The workshop aims to bring together junior researchers (PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, recent graduates) working on questions of war, the military and related forms of violence. The workshop provides a space to develop scholarly networks, receive transdisciplinary feedback, and foster meaningful discussion and collaboration.

War is a social fact that goes well beyond the battlefield, a practice that produces continuous destruction of bodies, environments, infrastructure, and sociopolitical structures, not only as the fighting takes place, but also before and in its aftermath. It is also a generative social force, whose martial logics shape and organise diverse domains of social life, from the historical formation of the nation-state to industrial production, trade, gender inequality, spatial planning and food.

Still, the infliction of violence remains the main attribute of war. The multiple ways in which war permeates and shapes our societies converge in the administration of violence, both material and immaterial. In short, war organises life for its destruction. While it is important to investigate its many manifestations and societal consequences without limiting the analysis to the battlefield, these are inseparable from war's violent purpose: the end outcome of destruction must remain central to the analysis.

Therefore, we are interested in fostering discussions that consider both the generative and destructive effects of organised violence, that explore both warfare and the martial entanglements beyond the traditional realm of military studies.

We welcome applications from diverse approaches and disciplinary perspectives which can speak to the workshop's general scope. Questions of interest could include, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Military infrastructures and supply chains of war: What infrastructures exist to enable modern warfare and how may these be best understood? How do military logistics and supply chains shape the global economy, societies, and the Earth system?
• Weapons, technology and the materiality of violence: How can violence in warfare be understood through its material components, such as weapons, battlefields, and wounded bodies?
• Militarism, the Earth System, and the war against the living: How does militarism relate to global environmental harms and extractivism?
• The societal organisation of destruction: How are societies (re)organised to meet the needs of military organisations? In what ways do food systems, agriculture, healthcare, urban planning, infrastructure, etc. reflect legacies of past or preparations for future war?

Workshop details

Dates: 1-2 December 2026
Place: University of Liège

Submission
The workshop is open to submissions of various types of written work, including drafts of articles, research or book proposals, and ongoing thesis work. To apply, contributors should submit an abstract (between 300 and 500 words, excluding references) via the following link. The deadline for applications is the 5th of October, 2026.
Participants will be asked to share a draft of around 5000-8000 words around two weeks in advance of the workshop.
Travel expenses and accommodation in Liège will be covered for selected participants.

For further inquiries, contact andrea.restaldi@uliege.be

Call

Organising committee
Sterre van Buuren, PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow
Amélie Karrer, PhD candidate at Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Andrea Restaldi, PhD candidate at Université de Liège
Pierre-Alexandre Cauvin, PhD applicant at Université de Liège

Scientific committee
Julien Pomarède, Centre for the study of war and violence, Université de Liège
Benoît Pelopidas, Nuclear Knowledges Program - CERI, Sciences Po Paris
Marijn Hoijtink, Platform Wars project, University of Antwerpen
Christophe Wasinski, REPI, ULB
Pauline Heinrichs, Department of War Studies, King's College London
Sterre van Buuren, PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow
Amélie Karrer, PhD candidate at ULB
Andrea Restaldi, PhD candidate at Université de Liège