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In the face of the rapidly changing defence and security environment, states are increasingly struggling to counter conventional and hybrid threats, while also standing by to respond to domestic emergencies. As a result, many states have increased defence spending, sought to boost military recruitment efforts, and developed integrated defence force models. Reserve forces are key components of such models. Building on theoretical and empirical insights from our previous co-edited volume Total Defence Forces in the Twenty-First Century (McGill-��ɫ��Ƶ Press, 2023), we propose an original and systematic examination of reserve forces in the NATO context. 

Objective: Reserve forces are increasingly seen as vital for strengthening national defence, contributing to personnel-intensive responses to national and international crises, as well as reinforcing the links between defence institutions and the wider society. As states seek to adapt their defence policies and practices to new and emerging security challenges, questions about the organization, role and mandate of reserves take on a new sense of urgency and relevance. The aim of this book is to contribute to our understanding of reserve force models, in relation to the organization and development of Total Defence Forces and inform reserve force generation and employment in the NATO context. We are interested in the prospects and challenges of reserve forces within defence and security, as well as the role of reserves for military-society relations.

In addition to introducing different and evolving reserve force models in this edited volume, we would like to showcase country case studies that serve to illustrate why and how these models have emerged (e.g. part-time service, home guard, operational reserve, conscription based). We will compare the different models and how recent changes in the defence and security landscape have impacted them, comparing the case studies along key characteristics (expeditionary vs. domestic, specialists vs. generalists, collective vs. augmentee, etc). Beyond NATO cases, we explore other models that have informed NATO policy discussions on reserve forces, before ending with a conclusion that summarizes key findings and proposes recommendations for the Alliance and its member states.

Key questions include:

• What are the main characteristics of the reserve force model(s) you are analyzing, how have these been developed, and what is their relationship to regular armed forces and wider society?
• What are the main institutional mechanisms by which these reserve forces are generated and employed?
• What are the benefits and challenges of the reserve force model(s), from a national perspective and from a NATO perspective (e.g. capacity, capability, flexibility, cost effectiveness, political dynamics, policy and legislative issues, etc)?
• What are the anticipated effects for optimal reserve force employment in relation to these risks and challenges (readiness, interoperability, societal resilience, etc)?

 

Agenda:

Day 1- Tuesday, July 14

9:00- 9:30 | Registration and Coffee

9:30- 9:45 | Opening Remarks

• Joakim Berndtsson, University of Gothenburg

• Irina Goldenberg, Department of National Defence

• Stéfanie von Hlatky Queen’s University

9:45- 10:30 | Keynote Address - Future Reserve Force: Toward greater national resilience

• Brigadier General Stéphane Tardif, CD, Deputy Chief of Reserves, Canada

10:30- 10:45 | Break

10:45- 12:00 |  Panel 1

1. Between Obligation and Voluntarism: Agency in Estonia’s Reserve-Based Defense Model  
   • Kairi Kasearu, University of Tartu
   • Taavi Laanepere, Estonian Military Academy
   • ���������&�Բ�����;����������ä��, Estonian Military Academy
   • Tiia-Triin Truusa, Baltic Defence College 
2. Between Citizen and Soldier: The Swedish Home Guard and Reserve Force Generation in a NATO Context  
   • Joakim Berndtsson, CSMS and University of Gothenburg
   • Lotta Victor Tillberg, CSMS and Södertörn University
   • Peter Tillberg, CSMS

12:00 - 1:30 pm | Lunch and Mentorship Networking

1:30 - 1:45 pm | Introduction of the Canada research chair on the Reserve Force

• Dr. Yann Breault and Dr. Ian Parenteau, Royal Military College Saint-Jean

1:45 - 3:30 pm | Panel 2

1. The Cognitive Edge: Reimagining Reserve Forces for Modern Warfare
   • William F. Lyons, Norwich University
   • Travis T. Morris, Norwich University
2. US Marine Reserve Component
   • Lindsay Rodman, Wilson Center's Canada Institute
3. The Enduring Value – and Growing Challenges – of Pretrained Individual Manpower in the U.S. Army
   • Stephen Dalzell, United States Army Reserve
4. Reservism in Latin America
   • Rafa Martínez, University of Granada 
   • Marién Durán, University of Granada
   • Alberto Bueno, University of Granada
   • Enriqueta Expósito, University of Granada

3:30 - 4:15 pm | Day 1 Summary

• Summary and key takeaways presented by the MA/PhD student team, followed by a group discussion where the practitioners in the room are invited to weigh in based on their experience with reserve forces. Moderated by co-directors.

4:15 pm | Reception and Workshop Dinner

• Tir Nan Og - 200 Ontario Street, Kingston (Participants are invited to gather following the day’s sessions. Meals and beverages will be at the participants’ own expense.)

 

Day 2- Wednesday, July 15

9:00- 9:15 | Morning Welcome & Agenda Review

9:15- 10:00 | Keynote Address

• An international perspective of how reservists can contribute to defend the liberal democracies in the context of the new NATO policy on Reserves.
  • Colonel Jørn Buø, President Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, CIOR

10:00- 11:15 | Panel 3

1. The Reserve as Part of NATO's Capability Profile: What Contribution Germany and NATO Members will have to make in Future
   • Colonel (R) Prof. Dr. Patrick Sensburg, Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces
   • Philip Mark
2. Re-inventing the Territorial Defense: Reserve Forces in Slovenia
   • Klemen Kocjančič, University of Ljubljana
   • Ljubica Jelušič, University of Ljubljana
3. Quality without Surge Capacity: The Limits of the Italian Reserve Model
   • Matteo Mazziotti di Celso, Institute for Strategic Research at the Military School

11:15- 11:30 pm | Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:45 pm | Panel 4

1. Gender and National Resilience: Ukraine’s Experience of Women in Total Defence
   • Anna Romandash, Claremont McKenna College
2. The Republic of Korea Reserve Forces (ROKRF): A Critical Deterrent Under Strain
   • Insoo Kim, Korea Military Academy
3. Israel's Reserve Forces—The Total Defence Model in Practice
   • Eyal Ben-Ari, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security
   • Eitan Shamir, Bar-Ilan University

12:45- 1:45 pm | Lunch

1:45 - 3:00 pm | Panel 5

1. From Total Force to Total Defence: Canadian Reserve Force Lessons for Whole-of-Society Defence
   • Howard Coombs, Royal Military College of Canada
2. The UK's Reserve Forces: Reversing 30 years of Change to be Ready Again for War
   • Vincent Connelly, Oxford Brookes University
3. Second-class Soldiers? Reservists in New Zealand
   • Bethan Greener, Massey University

3:00 - 3:45 pm | Day 2 Summary

• Summary and key takeaways presented by the MA/PhD student team, followed by a group discussion where the practitioners in the room are invited to weigh in based on their experiences with reserve forces. Moderated by Dr. Stéfanie von Hlatky and Dr. Sanjida Amin (CDSN-CIDP Postdoctoral Fellow, Queen’s University).

3:45 - 4:00 pm | Closing statements

4:00 - 5:00 pm | Farewell Reception

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This workshop is being organized through a collaboration between the Canadian Defence and Security Network (CDSN;  ), the Swedish Centre for Studies of Armed Forces and Society (CSMS; ), the Centre of International and Defence Policy (CIDP; /cidp/ ), and the Total Defence Force working group of the European Research Group for Military and Society (ERGOMAS)  ).