Come Be My Colleague at CMS!

The Centre for Military Studies (CMS), which is part of the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen (KU), is advertising two positions at either the Associate Professor or Assistant Professor level. Associate Professor positions are immediately permanent, while Assistant Professor positions are for three years but can become permanent. The flexibility with level is designed to ensure that we don’t miss out on the next great academic simply because, as an ECR, they do not yet meet the requirements for Associate Professor.

These are not international-law positions, although familiarity with and interest in international law would be great. Here is the relevant description of the positions:

As Assistant/Associate Professor at the Centre for Military Studies, the general duties are:

• Research within the field of defence, security, and strategic studies
• Applied research and commissioned analytical tasks for the Danish Ministry of Defence and the political parties to the Defence Agreement
• Knowledge sharing with society, including media appearances and public lectures
• Teaching, supervision, and examination of undergraduate and post-graduate students at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen

The weighting of the different duties may vary periodically, but the successful candidate can expect to spend some 60% of his/her time doing applied research for the Danish Ministry of Defence and the political parties to the Defence Agreement. A certain amount of teaching is also to be expected.

I have been part of CMS for the past four years, and I can say without hesitation that it is a great place to work. My colleagues at the Centre are brilliant, accomplished, and most importantly wonderful people. (We meet every Wednesday as a group to have cake and share what we have been doing the previous week.) I also have nothing but good things to say about the Department of Political Science and the University of Copenhagen as a whole. Both have been unfailingly supportive, first in allowing me to work remotely from rural Australia for almost a year during the pandemic even though I could have physically relocated, and more recently in summarily dismissing the baseless complaint UK Lawyers for Israel filed against me. This is also a great time to be joining CMS, as we are experiencing significant turnover that, while sad at a personal level, provides us with an opportunity to make the Centre even better than it has been for the past 20 years.

I realise, of course, that some researchers will baulk at a position that involves working closely with a government. I had my own concerns when I applied. But I have found literally everyone in the MoD, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the political parties in the Danish government to be smart, dedicated, and principled — even when I disagree with them. And the Danish government takes protecting CMS’s academic freedom very seriously. We decide what to write about in consultation with the government, and there is zero pressure — ever — to reach conclusions that the government will like. Yet our reports are read at the highest levels of the Danish government and can have real impact on policy. So if producing good academic work in defence, security, and strategic studies while also engaging in important policy discussions with high-level decision makers sounds appealing, you will not find better positions than the ones we are advertising. (And that doesn’t even take into account that Copenhagen is one of the most liveable cities in the world.)

The deadline for applications is short, because we desperately need our new colleagues: March 21. I am on the hiring committee, so I am a bit limited in what I can say about the positions. Serious applicants, however, should feel free to reach out with any questions. If I can’t answer them, I can put you in touch with one of my lovely colleagues.

Full information about how to apply is here.