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Welcome to the Website of the international Research Network on

“Military, War and Gender/Diversity  /  Militär, Krieg und Geschlecht/Diversität” (MKGD)

 

This website is intended to provide a virtual platform for the international research network on Military, War and Gender/Diversity / Militär, Krieg und Geschlecht/Diversität (MKGD), which was founded on March 11 2024, that not only serves to provide information about the activities of the research network, but is also intended to provide broader information about the field of research. One-hundred-and-two researchers from various disciplines from universities and institutions in nineteen countries joined the research network so far as cooperation partners. One of them is the Bundeswehr Centre for Military History and Social Sciences  (Zentrum für Militärgeschichte und Sozialwissenschaften der Bundeswehr, ZMSBw). In addition, over 500 scholars from 34 countries, all working on the subject of gender, violence and war in different stages of their career,  joint  our MKGD mailing list.

The aim of the research network is to systematically promote the research approach and subject of gender/diversity, military, violence and war through intensive international and interdisciplinary collaboration. In addition to this website, the research network includes a mailing list linked to the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, an MKGD online research colloquium that started in April 2024 and regularly comprises four events each in the summer and winter term. The presentations are either in English or German and will be announced accordingly. In addition, in November 2024 a group of younger scholars started an Early Career Initiative under the MKGD umbrella for Masters’ students, PhD candidates, recent PhDs, and PostDocs working in this field. In 2026 we also will start our own Book Series with Berghahn Books “Studies in Gender, Wars and Violence.” We just published the Call for Book Proposals

Furthermore, we organize  an annual international MKGD-ZMSBw conference together with cooperation partners.  The third International MKGD-ZMSBw Conference on “Sexual Violence in Militaries and Wars: Comparative and Long-term Perspectives” will take place from Wednesday to Friday, January 20 to 22, 2027 at the ZMSBw in Potsdam. We just published the Call for Papers. In addition, we organize our first international MKGD-ZMSBw Online Workshop on “Masculinities, Militaries, Violence and Wars since 1945” on Thursday and Friday, June 25 and 26, 2026.

For more information click here.

For the Annual Report 2025 of the MKGD Research Network click here

For  a flyer on the MKGD Research Network click here

 

Academic Directors:

Prof. Dr Isabelle Deflers, Professor of Early Modern History, and Vice President for Internationalisation and Diversity at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich.

Prof. Dr Karen Hagemann, James G. Kenan Distinguished Professor of History and Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Prof. Dr Isabel Heinemann, Professor of Contemporary History at the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich and Director of the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History, Munich – Berlin, Germany.

If you are interested to be included in the MKGD mailing list  please write to: mkgd.forschungsverbund@gmail.com

 


Call for Papers

Third International MKGD-ZMSBw Conference on 

Sexual Violence in Militaries and Wars: Comparative and Long-term Perspectives

on Wednesday to Friday, January 20 to 22, 2027 at the Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Sciences Potsdam, Germany

The third international conference organised by the Research Network on Military, War and Gender/Diversity (MKGD) and the Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Sciences (ZMSBw) will examine the issue of sexual violence perpetrated by military and paramilitary forces, taking a comparative approach across regions and time periods. Our aim is to explore conflicts in Europe, North America and beyond from the Early Modern period to the present day. We appreciate contextualised case studies, as well as diachronic and synchronic comparisons. In particular, we welcome proposals on the Early Modern era and the nineteenth century, which remain relatively understudied in the developing historiography of conflict-related sexual violence.

Keynote Speaker:

  • Elizabeth Wood (Franklin Muzzy Crosby Professor of the Human Environment and Professor of Political Science, International and Area Studies at Yale University):
    Sexual Violence during War: Comparative Perspectives

The Call for Papers invites advanced doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced scholars in the field to submit proposals. Presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes. The conference language is English. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer hybrid participation.

To apply for participation in the conference, please submit an English abstract
(approx. 700 words) and a short CV (up to 2 pages).

Please send your application to Prof. Dr Maren Röger (GWZO) by March 31, 2026
Email <magda.wlostowska@leibniz-gwzo.de

For the Call for Papers click here

For more information click here

 


MKGD Online Research Colloquium in the Summer Term 2026
The programme of the colloquium in the summer term 2026 will include the following presentation: 

Monday, April 27, 2026, 4:006:00 pm (CET)
Prof. Dr LUCY NOAKES (University of Essex): War and Peace: Mass Observation, Memory and the End of the Second World War in Britain
Moderation: Prof. Dr Isabelle Deflers (University of the Bundeswehr Munich)

Monday, May 11, 2026, 4:006:00 pm (CET)
Prof. Dr JANE OHLMEYER (Trinity College Dublin): Women, War and Sexual Violence in Early Modern Ireland
Moderation: PD Dr Anne-Laure Briatte (Sorbonne Université)

Monday, June 15, 2026, 4:006:00 pm (CET)
Dr JASPER HEINZEN (University of York): Book Discussion: Prisoners of War and Military Honour, 1789-1918
Comments: Dr Elodie Duché (York St John University) and Prof. Dr Brian Feltman (Georgia Southern University)
Moderation: Prof. Dr Tanja Bührer (Paris Lodron University Salzburg)

Monday, July 6, 2026, 4:006:00 pm (CET)
Prof. Dr KAREN HAGEMANN (University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
):
Book Discussion: Forgotten Soldiers: Women, the Military and Wars in Europe since 1600
Comment: Prof. Dr em Michael Geyer (University of Chicago)
Moderation: Prof. Dr Isabel Heinemann (LMU Munich)

For more information on the programme click here

For a PDF of the programme overview click here

 


MKGD Early Career Initiative

NEW! Video Portrait Series  “Three Minutes, Three Questions”

Informs about exciting new projects by young scholars.

For more  information click here

For the first videos click here


Podcast Series “Sein und Streit”  (in German)
New Readiness for Defense: What Militarization does to Society

Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, there has been debate in Germany about compulsory military service. Political scientist Herfried Münkler (Humboldt University of Berlin) and historian Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) reflect on what mobilization means for a society. The conversation is moderated by author and philosopher  Wolfram Eilenberger.

(Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 1 February 2026, Language German; 46 minutes)

For the Podcast click here (also on Spotify)


Interview:
“Diversity in the Army: ‘Combat is still seen as a Man’s Job’”
Süddeutsche Zeitung Online, May 3, 2024 (in German)
Interview by Daniela Bode, Neubiberg with the history professors Isabelle Deflers (University of the Bundeswehr Munich) and Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) on the occasion of the founding of the Military, War and Gender Research Network, which they initiated together with Lieutenant Dr. Friederike Hartung (Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr). 
©  Süddeutsche Zeitung GmbH, Munich. With the kind permission of Süddeutsche Zeitung Content