Many countries rely on immigration to sustain their population growth and workforce.  Canada and some of its allies are no exception, having very high rates of foreign-born among their population. On the other hand, immigrants leave their homes in search of a better life, to reunite with family, for economic or humanitarian reasons, and they bring to their new country much needed human capital to fill workforce gaps, including serving in their new country’s military. Due to the limited research on immigrants in the armed forces, we embarked on a qualitative study to explore different immigration and military service experiences, using narrative inquiry to elicit the stories of immigrant soldiers, aviators and sailors serving in the militaries of the Five Eyes countries: Canada, the US, Australia, the UK and New Zealand.

Project Authors:

Grazia Scoppio, PhD

• Affiliation: Royal Military College of Canada & Queen’s University
• Tel: (613) 876-4001   Email: scoppio-g@rmc.ca

Aimee Vieira, PhD

• Affiliation: Independent Scholar
• Email: aimeevieiraph.d@gmail.com  

Sawyer Hogenkamp PhD Candidate

• Affiliation: University of California Los Angeles
• Email: sawyerhogenkamp@g.ucla.edu

Biographies:

Dr. Grazia Scoppio is a Professor in the Department of Defence Studies, Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), cross-appointed in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University and Fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen’s. She held several appointments including Acting Deputy Director Research, Dallaire Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security; Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Peace and War Studies at Norwich University, Vermont, USA; and Dean of Continuing Studies at RMC. She is a member of the Editorial Boards of the Canadian Military Journal and the Comparative and International Education journal (CIE) and was the Editor (French) with Dr. Marianne Larsen, Editor (English) of the CIE journal. Her multidisciplinary research focuses on military personnel issues including: diversity and gender in military organizations; immigrants in the armed forces; indigenous people in the military; and military education. She presented her research at many national and international conferences and authored or co-authored several publications, including the book The Power of Diversity in the Armed Forces – International Perspectives on Immigrant Participation in the Military, co-edited by Scoppio and Greco. She received grants and awards from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Department of National Defence, and Fulbright.

Dr. Aimee Vieira is a Professor of Sociology recently retired from Norwich University in Vermont, USA. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Université de Montréal, in Quebec, Canada. Dr. Vieira has extensive experience conducting qualitative interviews with minority populations, rural residents, immigrants, adult “Third Culture Kids”, entrepreneurs, and military service members. She served as Director of the School of Justice Studies and Sociology at Norwich from 2018 through 2020, and as Deputy Director and Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Culture and Language at the Norwich University Applied Research Institute from 2013-2016. She has collaborated with the Places Institute at SUNY-Oneonta and has served on the Diversity Committee of the Rural Sociological Society and is a past chair of the Racial and Ethnic Minorities Research Interest Group of the same organization. Her publications include research on the use of interpreters in conflict zones, language dimensions of cross-cultural engagements, and minority community rural economies. She also co-authored a US government funded cross-cultural training course for US Army soldiers at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School.         

Sawyer Hogenkamp is a Ph.D. Student in Social Welfare, at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He completed a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Human Development and Psychology at Harvard University and holds a M.Ed. and B.Ed. from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Sawyer is pursuing a Ph.D. to further the study of violence and safety in school and community contexts, particularly in under-supervised spatial contexts, and among underserved populations of youth and school staff. Sawyer was a research assistant in the study of the Regular Officer Training Plan using Gender-Based Analysis Plus, examining the experiences of officer cadets in Canadian Military Colleges through an intersectional lens, with the aim to better support women and ethnic minorities in officer training programs. In addition to this project, Sawyer is working with the APA Taskforce on Violence Against Educators, organizing and analyzing data from school psychologists, social workers, counselors, administrators, teachers, and other school staff regarding their perceptions and experiences of violence and safety in their workplace.

Registration Now Open!

visit the KCIS 2024 Conference Page

This colloquium seeks to analyze the strategic implications of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections on the landscape of international relations, with a particular focus on Canada’s position and strategies. At a time of significant political change in the U.S., we will explore how the election results could reshape global alliances, foreign policies, and international security frameworks by exploring different possible scenarios. The first panel aims to explore the challenges posed by public distrust of institutions, the rise of misinformation, engendering an era of post-truth that intensifies social and political tensions, leading to an escalation of violence. The second panel focuses on the repercussions of a potential American withdrawal from international institutions, signaling a shift towards a more unilateral approach or one based on ad hoc alliances by various states, which could call into question established international norms and rules. It aims to analyze the consequences of this evolution for the international community, and the role of countries like Canada in this new paradigm. Finally, the last panel takes place in a context where the evolution of American policy could lead to a significant change in global leadership. What actions should be envisaged to counter the absence of the United States? International cooperation and diplomacy.

Free Registration

Conference Agenda:

9:00 – 9:15: Opening remarks

9:15 – 10:15: Keynote speaker

10:15 – 10:30: Health break

10:30 – 12:00: Round Table – The Evolving Strategic Environment in a Changing Political World

We’re facing an ever-changing world, where geopolitical dynamics are rapidly evolving, shaping the international landscape. In view of the upcoming U.S. elections and the various scenarios anticipated following a change of leadership, this round table aims to discuss Canada’s strategic issues in relation to the research themes at the heart of the research initiatives identified by our partners.

12:00 – 13:00: Lunch

13:00 – 14:30: Panel 1 – The Post-Truth Era

The contemporary political environment is marked by public distrust of the legitimacy of knowledge and public institutions, shaped by hybrid media, misinformation and contestation. A worrying consequence of this post-truth era is the increase in violence in response to these contested political environments. Social and political tensions are intensifying, fueled by polarized and often manipulated narratives, creating a climate conducive to conflict escalation and radicalization. In such a context, this panel highlights the challenges faced by countries like Canada, seeking to strengthen their resilience in the face of these political and social pressures.

14:30 – 14:45: Health break

15:00 – 16:30: Panel 2 – The Weakening of International Institutions (Post-Rule)

With the upcoming US presidential elections, it is possible to anticipate a potential change in the international order, more specifically in relation to a disengagement of the United States from international institutions. Instead of relying on institutions such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization or various regional alliances to resolve conflicts and manage global affairs, many states are considering following their own interests unilaterally or through ad hoc alliances, ignoring established rules and norms. This panel aims to explore the implications of this paradigm shift for the international community as a whole, but also what avenues Canada can contribute in such a context of weakening international institutions.

16:30 – 16:45: Closing remarks

17:00 – 18:30: Networking Event

Initial exploration of Indigenous Defence engagement as a strategy of Reconciliation

In this presentation, Federica Caso and Grazia Scoppio will introduce the initial steps of a pilot project titled Indigenous Leadership in the Canadian Armed Forces. The project aims to examine the formal and informal leadership opportunities that the Canadian Armed Forces generates for Indigenous service men and women and how these opportunities can advance national reconciliation.

Bios:

Dr Federica Caso was born in Sardegna, a Mediterranean island belonging to Italy, where she developed intimate familiarity with questions of militarism and cultural self-determination. In 2015, she moved from the UK to Meanjin/Brisbane to pursue a PhD at the University of Queensland, which she gained in 2019. Federica researches the relationship between Defence and settler colonialism which she gathers under the concept of ‘settler military politics’. She has recently concluded a project that maps the history and politics of Australia’s war commemoration along the development of the settler (martial) state. This research is collected in the forthcoming book Settler Military Politics: Militarisation and the Aesthetics of War Commemoration (2024, Edinburgh University Press). She is now focusing on Indigenous military service in the present, including Indigenous participation in the Regional Surveillance Units (of which NORFORCE is the most recognisable), Defence Indigenous Procurement, and the contribution of Indigenous women in Defence to gender equality and reconciliation. She is working to establish a network of scholars interested in settler military politics across Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Dr. Grazia (Grace) Scoppio is a Professor in the Department of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and is cross-appointed in the Queen’s University Department of Political Studies. In 2021, she was a Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Peace and War Studies at Norwich University, in Vermont, USA.  Dr. Scoppio was the Dean of Continuing Studies at RMC from 2017 to 2020 after having served as Associate Dean from 2013 to 2016. Between 2002 and 2013, she held various appointments at the Canadian Defence Academy and the Canadian Forces Leadership Institute (CFLI). She has authored or co-authored numerous publications including books, technical and scientific reports, journals articles and chapters in edited books. One of Scoppio’s recent publications is a book that she co-edited with Sara Greco, entitled: The Power of Diversity in the Armed Forces – International Perspectives on Immigrant Participation in the Military. She has presented her multidisciplinary research at many national and international conferences. Her interdisciplinary research areas include: diversity and gender in military organizations, indigenous people and the military, organizational culture, migration, military education, distance learning, comparative and international education, whole of government & comprehensive approach, lessons learned & organizational learning.