Deadline 30th June 2021
A Conference to be held at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Friday, 17th September 2021
‘The Challenge of Liaison: Past, Present and Future’
A Conference to be held at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Friday, 17th September 2021
A Call for Papers
This conference seeks to bring together academics and practitioners with an interest in the field of ‘liaison’ in its widest sense: the function of establishing and maintaining dialogue and communication between parties, who may or may not be friendly. In the 20th century ‘liaison’ involved military, diplomatic, and humanitarian players and as the 21st century progresses the challenges posed by coordination and dialogue seem set to increase.
As a term ‘Liaison’ has defied precise definition. It can be an important, but often overlooked, function. For these reasons it deserves to be examined and debated in greater detail. This conference aims to serve these purposes.
With this in mind, paper proposals (synopses) of 250-300 words are invited on a broad range of relevant issues and areas. These include:
- Military missions/liaison missions operating during the World Wars;
- Western and Soviet bilateral military liaison missions (MLMs) in Cold War Germany;
- The 15 Military Missions accredited to the Allied Control Commission in Berlin;
- Liaison and observer arrangements during the 1990s campaigns in the former Yugoslavia and during the Gulf and Afghan campaigns;
- Training of ‘liaison’ operators and Foreign Area specialist programmes;
- ‘Liaison’ aspects of Arms Control and Verification regimes;
- NATO and EU ‘liaison’ outreach programmes;
- ‘Liaison’ aspects of the Minsk process;
- ‘Liaison’ challenges of current and potential future Asia-Pacific developments;
- ‘Liaison’ implications of the current UK Integrated Defence and Security Review.
The keynote speaker will be General Sir Rupert Smith KCB DSO* OBE QGM
Date for submission of paper proposals (synopses): no later than 30th June 2021
RMAS academic POC (and submission of paper proposals):
Dr Martin Smith, Department of Defence and International Affairs, RMAS
smithm505@dgw365.onmicrosoft.com 07946 256748
BRIXMIS Association POC: Chairman (Maj Gen Peter Williams)
fraddsmeadow@hotmail.com 01793 762113
This conference is sponsored jointly by the RMAS and by the BRIXMIS Association which is marking the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Robertson-Malinin Agreement on 16th September 1946, which set up the British MLM (BRIXMIS) in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the reciprocal Soviet MLM (SOXMIS) in the British Occupation Zone in Germany.
Along with its fellow US and French MLMs (USMLM and FMLM), BRIXMIS operated as a formal ‘liaison’ mission and also as an information collection unit in East Germany until 2nd October 1990, closing down on the eve of German re-unification.
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