Kingston is a city where military history is hard to miss. Uniforms are a familiar sight, and reminders of national service appear across the city, from memorials on Queen’s campus to commemorative spaces downtown, alongside institutions such as the Royal Military College (RMC) and Canadian Forces Base Kingston. The relationship between civilian and military life here stretches back centuries. Since the establishment of Fort Frontenac in 1673, civilian settlement and military presence have existed side by side.

That history has shaped more than Kingston’s identity. It has also influenced how research around defence and international affairs developed at Queen’s. In 1975, Queen’s established what is now the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP).

During the 2025–26 academic year, CIDP is marking 50 years at Queen’s. Housed within the School of Policy Studies, it brings together research fellows from Queen’s, the Royal Military College, and policy organizations across Canada, and has grown into a hub for defence and international policy research.

“Our work is about bringing academic research into defence policy discussions as they unfold,” says Dr. Michael Murphy (Policy Studies), director of CIDP. “As Canada and its allies rethink defence strategy and capabilities, the expertise developed here can contribute to how those issues are understood.”

Today, CIDP organizes its work through three research clusters.
 

Cooperation and competition

Military strategy, alliance politics, and defence cooperation sit at the centre of the cooperation and competition cluster. Here, researchers examine how security partnerships function under strain.

One of the centre’s longest-running initiatives is the Kingston Consortium on International Security. Led by CIDP since 2006, the consortium brings together academics, policymakers, military leaders, and practitioners from Canada and abroad to examine a shared annual theme. Through its annual conference and year-round programming, the consortium holds discussions on some of the most pressing international security and defence issues.

Projects such as the Réseau d'analyse stratégique/Network for Strategic Analysis have provided real-time analysis of geostrategic developments, focusing on great power competition, multilateral defence cooperation, and future capacity building.
 

Human security and gender

Defence policy is not only about states and alliances. Within the human security and gender cluster, researchers examine how defence policies affect people and how institutions respond in practice.

A central component of this work is CIDP’s Gender Lab, which focuses on lived experiences within defence institutions, particularly the Canadian Armed Forces. Using mixed methods and multidisciplinary approaches, the lab produces research intended to inform policy on gender, military culture, and institutional change.

Recent projects include the Research Network on Women, Peace and Security, co-directed by Queen’s researcher Yolande Bouka (Political Studies), Canada Research Chair in Afrofeminist Thought and Political Transformation. The network brings together Canadian and international experts to examine how identity shapes experiences of security and militarism. Other work engages directly with NATO and partner institutions through applied research and training programs designed to integrate gender perspectives into day-to-day policy and operational planning.
 

Technology and security

New technologies that affect both daily life and military operations are raising fresh questions for defence policy. The technology and security cluster examines their impact on military capability, government decision-making, and civilian life.

CIDP has a long track record in this area, including research on human performance enhancement and the future of the soldier. Earlier projects brought together researchers and defence partners to examine how emerging technologies affect military effectiveness, health, and ethics, producing policy briefs and workshops that informed defence discussions.

More recently, the cluster has expanded to include large-scale international research on technology, security, and extremism. Projects such as AMALTHEA examine how gender dynamics shape radicalization and violent extremism, combining data analysis with tools such as multilingual training resources and simulation platforms designed to support prevention and policy planning across multiple countries.

Quantum technology is another area drawing growing attention from defence policymakers. Through a national conference, CIDP brought together government officials, defence experts, researchers, and industry leaders to examine its implications for defence procurement and security planning. The discussions concluded with policy recommendations for federal departments. 

“We are making decisions about tools that are still evolving,” says Dr. Murphy. “That requires careful thinking about consequences we may not fully see yet.”
 

Student collaboration

Undergraduate and graduate students are embedded across CIDP’s research clusters as paid assistants and interns, contributing directly to active defence and security projects.

Students also engage through public talks, writing opportunities, and events that connect researchers, policymakers, and members of the defence community. CIDP collaborates closely with the Royal Military College, Canadian Forces Base Kingston, and the Department of National Defence, with Queen’s students and RMC officer cadets regularly participating in shared discussions. These partnerships help prepare students and policymakers for the decisions shaping Canada’s security future.

“Students are not just learning about defence policy in a classroom,” says Dr. Murphy. “They are contributing research that is shared with partners beyond the university and informs real-world decisions.”