Call for submissions
EuroISME’s 16th annual conference
Tuesday morning, 11 May to Thursday afternoon, 13 May 2027
at the Hotel Hilton Garden Inn, in Wiener Neustadt
(near Vienna), Austria
Topic: Neutrality in the 21st Century
Power is increasingly becoming the determining dynamic of international relations. And not just military power, but economic, political and technological power are being used to bend nations to the will of those powerful states which wield them. The institutions which were created in the wake of the second world war to place boundaries around such power – most notably the United Nations – are almost powerless to respond to this tectonic shift. Some of the largest nations with the ostensible duty to restrain such power are amongst those which refuse to be constrained by the rules and organisations which their own predecessor governments created.
While superpowers increasingly behave as they will, and middle powers scramble to work out how they can continue to exert some influence in a polarising world, a small but significant group of countries remain neutral. In Europe, Switzerland, Austria, Cyprus, Malta, Ireland and Serbia are the main countries which have chosen to remain neutral. Finland and Sweden abandoned neutrality and joined NATO in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
There is no single reason why these countries and others such as Japan, Costa Rica and Ghana have chosen neutrality (and it is today a choice not an imposition). The reasons are rooted in history, politics and without wishing to stereotype, national character. State neutrality can be an issue of principle, like Switzerland, or an issue of non-alignment, like the former Yugoslavia under Tito, or the result of a constitutional law, as in Austria.
But in this risky and interconnected world is neutrality a defensible moral choice if it means sheltering under a defence umbrella provided by others? Does neutrality offer any immunity from cyber or economic warfare? In September Vladimir Putin ordered the seizure of the Swiss company Nestlé’s assets in Russia, despite centuries of Swiss neutrality. For our 2027 hosts in Austria, what does neutrality mean for a country which has signed up to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, is bound by the EU’s mutual defence clause under Article 42(7) of the EU Treaty, but whose constitutional neutrality means it does not have to provide military help if that clause is invoked? More generally, does military neutrality also imply economic and political neutrality?
But neutrality goes beyond the realm of state to state relations. It encompasses NGOs and some international organisations, – for example UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent organisations and Médecins sans Frontières. It also encompasses the impartiality which UN peacekeeping forces must display.
Neutrality (or impartiality) has implications at the operational and tactical levels of command for both civilian and military organisations.
Neutrality can impose levels of restraint and non-intervention when witnessing acts which would justify intervention under other circumstances. For commanders and their subordinates, is this an example of good leadership or a moral abrogation which lays the foundation for moral injury? The answer depends not only on whether leadership is judged by its effectiveness or by its ethics, but also on the tension between tactical and strategic objectives. Similar arguments could also be applied to coalition operations, where a dominant nation can impose or relax levels of restraint (as in the policy of ‘courageous restraint’ in Afghanistan) that other coalition partners feel they must comply with.
One place in which this debate has been especially intense is on the role of UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon. What the UN defines as neutrality has been condemned by Israel as turning a blind eye to Hezbollah. It seems that neutrality, like beauty, can be in the eye of the beholder.
Austria is home to several UN institutions which themselves must navigate this divisive geopolitical landscape as ‘neutrals’. We hope to hear from them and other distinguished speakers about whether neutrality is a principled ethical choice or a pragmatic political one.
In a world in which taking sides is increasingly the norm, what place do you think neutrality has? Become part of that debate at our next conference.
Dates and venue
The conference venue is the venue is Hotel Hilton Garden Inn, in the city of Wiener Neustadt (near Vienna), in Austria. The conference will begin on Tuesday morning May 11th , and it will end on Thursday afternoon May 13th..
Note: It is possible that we receive so many submissions that the conference will not close on Thursday around noon, as usual, but around 15:00hrs in order to allow an additional round of panel presentations. The Programme Committee will announce late in February or early March whether this will be the case.
On the eve of the conference, we will have our customary ice-breaker reception. The exact venue thereof will be announced in due course.
Details of the Call for Papers & deadline
All members of EuroISME’s audience are invited to make a submission on the above-mentioned conference theme. Given the increasing number of submissions which EuroISME receives for its annual conferences, and also given limitations of time & space, our policy for submissions is as follows. The following submissions are welcomed:
- Professional submissions. This concerns submissions from both the military (active or retired) and academics. The submissions are 850-1000 words (that is two or three pages) in length. These submissions should: 1) discuss the societal relevance of the proposed topic; 2) define the research problem; and 3) summarize the main conclusions. For academics, we appreciate a description of the research method. Professional submissions will be given a right of priority if the number of submissions received exceeds the number of time-slots available.
- Full panel submissions. We define a panel session as a time-slot of 90 minutes. A panel has preferably 3, though a maximum of 4, presentations, to be followed by some 20 minutes for questions and answers. Such panels need to consist of persons of at least two different nationalities, and the Programme Committee will maintain this rule. With three presentations, each presenter has 20 minutes (15 minutes with 4 presentations). A full panel submission will contain the submissions of each of the panellists plus the title of the full panel and the Point of Contact on behalf of that panel. A full panel submission should be made by means of a comprehensive email, which includes all the presentations that will be made in that panel. At request, EuroISME can assist in seeking a moderator or a presenter for a near-complete panel proposal.
- Student’s submissions/poster session. EuroISME specifically invites cadets, midshipmen and civilian students (Executive Masters or Academic Masters) to submit. This may concern: (1) a submission on research which has been recently concluded, but also (2) on on-going research, whereby the author would appreciate receive input from the audience. During the poster session, each selected student will receive 10 minutes to present his/her research to the plenary. Subsequently, each student will be offered a corner in the conference hall, where their poster will be placed and they can further engage with interested members of the audience and solicit their advice. Student’s submissions will be 250 words in length. The authors are strongly encouraged to have a large sheet of paper, perhaps from a flip-over, (approx. size A2) plus crayons or markers in various colours available during the conference.
- Round Table session. In this format, between 5 to 8 persons will speak for no more than seven minutes, after which they will engage with members of the audience. The time slot available will be the usual 90 minutes. In order to submit for a Round Table session, please submit one single paper for the whole group of presenters, which includes the overarching topic of the session, the name of the chairperson, the names and topics of the various presenters. We will endeavour to offer you a room where the chairs are placed in a circle.
All submissions shall be made in the English language. No simultaneous interpretation will be available. Please note that submissions do not necessarily have to assume the format of a paper: the Programme Committee welcomes submissions which offer a creative, out-of-the-box format. For instance, if you wish to introduce a game in which the participants can participate, etc, then please do not hesitate to do so. If you have special requirements for your submission, then please let us know well in advance, so that we can see if we can accommodate your requirements.
All submissions shall contain, at the top of the front page: the name, rank, and title of the author(s), plus the institution to which they are affiliated, plus contact details. They will also state in which category of submission the author intends to fit.
The deadline for submissions is February 1st, 2027. Submissions can be made here: https://www.euroisme.eu/index.php/en/events/annual-conference
Registration
Details on how to register, including the conference fees, will be announced early in the new year of 2027. Note: In a change from previous years, and in line with conferences organised by others, payment of the relevant conference fee will be required on registering. It will not be possible to register without paying. This change is necessary as some individuals have registered in the past but have not attended. This has incurred nugatory expenditure on catering by the organisers.
Assistance with travel costs
EuroISME has a limited budget available for prospective presenters at our conference, who cannot attend for financial reasons. Details concerning the application for financial assistance can be found here
https://euroisme.eu/images/Documents/EuroISME_Criteria_funding_travelcosts.pdf. Applicants should note that applications must be submitted before the submission deadline: 1 February 2027. Applicants will be informed of the decision by EuroISME whether the application has been accepted.
Visa and travel restrictions
Austria is an EU member and part of the Schengen Area. Conference participants from outside the Schengen Area who need a formal invitation from EuroISME to apply for a visa, are advised to contact our conference secretary Ms. Tirtsa Lisser (
Note: we will no longer issue formal invitations until the person who makes such a request has paid and registered. In the event that a visa application is denied by the authorities, we will refund your payment. In the recent past, we have seen too many requests for invitations from persons who never attend, leaving us with a useless administrative burden.
Participants in need of a formal invitation are strongly advised to start their visa application as soon as possible and ask for a formal invitation from EuroISME no later than eight weeks in advance. If you encounter problems with a visa application, then please contact us without delay, so that we can assess whether we can assist.
All participants are urged to check the COVID-19 regulations before traveling.
Information package and joining instructions
When the dates of the conference draw nearer, all registered conference participants will receive an information package plus joining instructions.
Details on conference fees and how to register will follow early in 2027.