Steve catches up with WIIS Chair and security scholar extraordinaire Aisha Ahmad.

Aisha Ahmad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Co-Director of the Islam and Global Affairs Initiative at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. In 2012, she was a fellow at the Belfer Center on Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her work explores the political economy of Islamist power in weak and failed states. She specializes in International Relations and International Security and has conducted fieldwork on conflict dynamics in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Lebanon, Mali, and Kenya. Her 2017 book with Oxford University Press, titled “Jihad & Co.: Black Markets and Islamist Power”, explores the economic drivers of these complex security crises.

Year Ahead presenter Ashley Matheis talks about the use of online platforms to promote and mainstream extremist ideologies.

Ashley A. Mattheis is a PhD. Candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Doctoral Fellow with the Center for Analysis of the Radical Right. Her work brings together cultural studies, media studies, rhetorical criticism, through the lens of feminist theory to explore the material effects of cultural production and consumption. Along with her PhD., she is completing a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies and is interested in complementing publications with digital humanities projects. Her areas of inquiry include discourses of motherhood, victim blaming, and Far/Alt-Right extremism. These discourses contribute to popular, juridical, and cultural expectations of gender by normalizing notions of heteronormativity, unmarked whiteness, and gendered violence within the contemporary United States. Her dissertation. “Fierce Mamas: New Maternalism, Social Surveillance, and the Politics of Solidarity,” analyzes how motherhood discourses and mothering practices are used socially, and by women themselves, to divide women along multiple vectors of identity. Her recent publications focus on the use of online platforms to promote and mainstream extremist ideologies and divisive practices through discourses predicated on gendered logics. Post dissertation, she plans to study how women use motherhood as a mechanism of recruiting other women into extremist ideologies.

In the 22nd episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Stef discuss the effects of COVID on security and defence for NATO, the UN and the CAF. Our Emerging Scholar & CDSN Capstone Laureate Mathieu Landriault [27:30], discuss his research on Canadian media in the Arctic.  Our Feature Interview this week is with CDSN’s co-director Andrea Charron [36:15] where she and Steve discuss the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD), NORAD and Deter, Detect, Defeat. This week we introduce a new segment called RnR [58:00], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s RnR picks are The Letter to the King on Netflix and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. Mentioned: A report by the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, University of Manitoba. The Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD): How Permanent and Joint? Celebrating 80 Years of Cooperation.

CDSN’s co-director Andrea Charron and Steve discuss the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD), NORAD and Deter, Detect, Defeat.

Andrea Charron holds a PhD from the Royal Military College of Canada (Department of War Studies). She obtained a Masters in International Relations from Webster University, Leiden, The Netherlands, a Master's of Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Queen's University. Dr. Charron worked for various federal departments including the Privy Council Office in the Security and Intelligence Secretariat. She completed her post doctorate at Carleton's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and is now Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies (CDSS) at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Charron has written extensively on the Arctic, NORAD, Canadian Defence Policy and the Security Council. She is a member of DND’s Advisory Board and is asked regularly to provide guest lectures at Canadian Forces College and to provide testimony to Senate and House of Commons' committees.

Emerging Scholar & CDSN Capstone Laureate Mathieu Landriault discusses his research on Canadian media in the Arctic.

Mathieu Landriault is the director of the Observatoire de la politique et la sécurité de l’Arctique (OPSA) and he is lecturing in the School of Conflict Studies at Saint Paul University. He is also a post-doctoral researcher at Trent University and a research associate at the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) of the University of Ottawa. He is researching media and public opinion on Arctic security and sovereignty matters as well as Canadian Foreign Policy.

In the 21st episode of Battle Rhythm, Steve and Stef discuss CDS Vance’s letter including Operations LASER, IMPACT and UNIFIER, along with a hold on recruiting for the CAF and what the US Military should be doing in the ‘War on COVID’. Our Feature Interview this week is with Brigadier-General Greg Smith, [30:50] in Mons, Belgium. Mentioned: Aisha Ahmad’s Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure; Devil's Brigade; Hyena Road; Strategic Strikes Back; World War Z

Brigadier-General Greg Smith in Mons, Belgium.

Brigadier-General Greg Smith was born in Oshawa, Ontario and graduated from the Collège militaire royal de St-Jean (CMR) in 1993. He has served in each of the battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) including commanding a mechanized rifle platoon and Mortar Platoon in 1 RCR, a mechanized company second-in-command in 2 RCR and the Parachute Company Commander in 3 RCR. He was Commanding Officer of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, Commandant of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, and Director of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps. Brigadier-General Smith's staff appointments include serving at the Infantry School, the Army Headquarters on three separate occasions as the ADC CLS, the G33 Current Operations and the G3, in the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, and as Chief of Staff of the Defence Renewal Team (DRT). Brigadier-General Smith's operational deployments include Operation HARMONY in Croatia in 1994-95 as a platoon commander, Operation ATHENA in Kabul in 2003-04 as Battalion Group Operations Officer (S3), in Kandahar in 2009-10 as a Task Force Commander and in Kabul on Operation ATTENTION in 2012 as the Deputy Commander. He is a graduate of the Transitional Command and Staff Course at the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, the Joint Command and Staff Program at the Canadian Forces College (CFC) Toronto and also the National Security Programme at CFC Toronto. Brigadier-General Smith possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Military and Strategic Studies (Honours) from CMR and three Masters of Arts in War Studies, Defence Studies and Public Administration through the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC) and the University of New Brunswick.

David Hofmann, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, who presented his paper at the last Gregg Centre Annual Conference

David Hofmann is an assistant professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. He is a research fellow with the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society, the Canadian Institute of Cyber Security, and the Muriel McQueen-Ferguson Centre for the Study of Family Violence. He has published in top scholarly journals on topics such as terrorist leadership, right-wing extremism in Canada, lone-actor terrorism, terrorist radicalization, terrorist networks, and transnational criminal networks. He has been consulted for his subject expertise by media, security, military, and policing organizations, particularly those in Atlantic Canada. He is currently co-editing a book entitled 'The Toronto 18 Terrorism Trials' with Kent Roach and Michael Nesbitt (expected publication in early 2021), and is working on finalizing a study of the extent and breadth of right-wing extremism in Atlantic Canada, which is part of a larger Public Safety Canada funded project led by Dr. Barbara Perry.

In the 20th episode of Battle Rhythm, Steve and our guest co-host this week, Anessa Kimball, fellow co-director of the CDSN and lead of the Security theme recap CDSN events and discuss governance under COVID, changes in the CAF leadership and finding creative ways to connect with students with social distancing. Our Emerging Scholar interview features CDSN Capstone Laureate, David Hofmann [39:30], Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, who presented his paper at the last Gregg Centre Annual Conference. This week’s Peeve is on hiatus as we provide more info on our upcoming Summer Institute. Mentioned: Graham Allison’s Destined for War; Todd Sanders’ Global Collective Action.

WIIS – France’s President, Johanna Möhring and WIIS – Canada’s Vice – Chair, Gaëlle Rivard Piché.

Johanna Möhring is a senior fellow at The Institute for Statecraft in London, Johanna Möhring directs the program on the nature of power in the 21st century. She is an associate researcher at the Thucydide Center, and a board member of WIIS UK, and Open Europe

Gaëlle Rivard Piché is a strategic analyst for Defence Research and Development Canada. She works closely with the Canadian Armed Forces, providing direct decision-making support through evidence-based research on a wide range of topics. She is currently a fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (Carleton University), where she completed her Ph.D. in International Affairs in 2017. She is also a guest lecturer at the Canadian Forces College and works as a consultant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on security sector reform and peace operations. In 2014-2015, Dr. Rivard Piché was a Fulbright research fellow in the International Security Program at the Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. As a Ph.D. candidate, she conducted extensive field research in Haiti and El Salvador between 2012 and 2015, looking at the consequences of security sector reform on public order and violence. To that end, she also did an internship at the United Nations’ Department of Peace Keeping Operations in New York in 2013.

Emerging Scholar Rachel Babins, a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at a major Canadian bank, who presented her paper at the last Defence and Security Foresight Group Conference.

Rachel Babins is a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at a major Canadian bank. In 2019, she received her MA at the University of Toronto in European and Russian Studies. Her masters research focused on Russian threats to Canadian critical infrastructure in the energy sector. She also specialized in disinformation research by conducting a year-long project that analyzed Russian state-sponsored disinformation campaigns targeting NATO during Operation Enhanced Forward Presence. Rachel has held positions at Natural Resources Canada, where she focused on nuclear security and at NATO with the Allied Joint Force Command in Brunssum.

Episode 19: International Women’s Day

In the 19th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Stef discuss the Coronavirus as a security problem, Turkey invoking Article 4 (again), trepidation about the U.S. – Taliban deal and upcoming events. Our Capstone Preview features Emerging Scholar Rachel Babins [21:45], a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at a major Canadian bank, who presented her paper at the last Defence and Security Foresight Group Conference. Our Feature Interview this week is with WIIS - France’s President, Johanna Möhring and WIIS - Canada’s Vice – Chair, Gaëlle Rivard Piché [27:30] This week’s Peeve is on hiatus as we provide more info on our upcoming Summer Institute.

Year Ahead guest, Shawn Skelly, Co-founder of Out in National Security and Commissioner, National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, 2017-2020.

Shawn Skelly Ms. Shawn Skelly is the Co-Founder of Out in National Security and served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for 20 years as a Naval Flight Officer, retiring with the rank of Commander. After a period in industry with ITT Exelis, she joined the Obama Administration in 2013, as the first transgender veteran to be appointed by a President of the United States. She first served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at the U.S. Department of Defense, and ultimately as the Director of the Office of the Executive Secretariat at the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2017, President Obama appointed Shawn to serve as a Commissioner on the newly established National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. Shawn was recognized as one of a group of transgender veterans in the 2017 OUT100.

Our Capstone Preview features Emerging Scholar Victoria Tait, a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at Carleton University, who presented her paper at the last inter-university Seminar on Armed Forces and Society-Canada.

Victoria Tait is currently a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at Carleton University in Ottawa, ON. Her research focuses broadly on feminist security studies, and her dissertation examines how Women, Peace and Security policy has been framed and implemented within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). She enjoys working directly with Canadian soldiers to identify challenges in the military’s gender culture(s) while creating space for female-identifying soldiers to shape the academic and political narrative of their experience. Additional areas of research interest include gendered analysis of Canadian policy on veterans, feminist research methods and women in terrorist and insurgency organizations. Victoria’s work on gender and security has appeared in publications by the Canadian Defence Academy, Springer Publishing, Sage Research Methods Cases, and the Royal Canadian Military Institute.

Episode 18: Diversity & Inclusion

In the 18th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and our guest co-host this week, Jean-Christophe Boucher, fellow co-director of the CDSN and lead of the Civil – Military Relations theme, discuss NATO in the Middle East, the Munich Security Conference and Macron’s vision for a European nuclear defense strategy. Our Capstone Preview features Emerging Scholar Victoria Tait [24:30], a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at Carleton University, who presented her paper at the last inter-university Seminar on Armed Forces and Society-Canada.  Our Feature Interview this week is with Year Ahead guest, Shawn Skelly [33:35] Co-founder of Out in National Security and Commissioner, National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, 2017-2020. This week’s Peeve is on hiatus as Steve is in Japan this week. Mentioned: Jean-Christophe Boucher and Kim Richard Nossal’s The Politics of War: Canada’s Afghanistan Mission, 2001–14; David Pugliese’s Ottawa Citizen piece, Canadian Forces nixes post about military "bling” but moves ahead with other initiatives to recruit women.

Year Ahead guest, Ayesha Ray discusses her research including escalating tensions in Kashmir and the inclusion of women in the Indian armed forces.

Ayesha Ray is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at King’s College, Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D in Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin, and her M.Phil and M.A. in International Relations from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her research interests focus on civil-military relations, conflict, and security issues in South Asia. She is the author of The Soldier and the State in India: Nuclear Weapons, Counterinsurgency, and the Transformation of Indian Civil-Military Relations, published by SAGE, in 2013; and a monograph, Culture, Context, and Capability: Comparing the American and Indian Counterinsurgency Experience, published by the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, in 2016. She also has several book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed international publications.

Emerging Scholar Ali Wyne, a researcher at RAND, who presented at KCIS last summer, on Great Power Competition.

Ali Wyne is a Washington, DC-based policy analyst in the RAND Corporation’s Defense and Political Sciences Department. He serves as a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a non-resident fellow with the Modern War Institute.

Episode 17: Global Hotspots (5 February 2020)

In the 17th episode of Battle Rhythm, Steve and Stef discuss highlights from the CGAI conference in Ottawa this past week, the makings of a good conference, Canadian ISIS fighters captured in Afghanistan, NATO in Iraq, the NATO Policy on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and the CAF falling short of its target of a 25% female force. Our Capstone Preview features Emerging Scholar Ali Wyne [33:30], a researcher at RAND, who presented at KCIS last summer, on Great Power Competition. Our Feature Interview this week is with Year Ahead guest, Ayesha Ray [44:45] where we discuss her research including escalating tensions in Kashmir and the inclusion of women in the Indian armed forces. This week’s Peeve [1:03:00] is about the American electoral process. Mentioned: Stéfanie von Hlatky’s Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism; Heidi Hardt & Stéfanie von Hlatky’s NATO's About-Face: Adaptation to Gender Mainstreaming in an Alliance Setting; Susan Bartels’ ‘Even peacekeepers expect something in return’: A qualitative analysis of sexual interactions between UN peacekeepers and female Haitians

Year Ahead guest, Will Greaves discusses Canada-US Relations and circumpolar politics.

Wilfrid Greaves is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His research principally examines the intersections between security theory and environmental politics with focuses on climate change, energy extraction, Indigenous peoples, and the circumpolar Arctic. He has also published studies on Canadian foreign policy, complex peace operations, counterinsurgency, and Arctic governance. Dr. Greaves is author of more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and his first book, Indigenizing Arctic Security: Polar Politics and Environmental Change in Canada and Norway, is forthcoming from University of Toronto Press.

He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto (2016), MA from the University of Calgary (2009), and BA from Bishop's University (2006). He was previously Lecturer at the Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice and Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Sami Studies at the University of Tromsø, Norway.

Episode 16: Climate Change & the Arctic (22 January 2020)

In the 16th episode of Battle Rhythm, Steve and Stef discuss the aftermath of the Iran – US fallout and the implications for NATO, along with the mandate of Operation LENTUS. Our Feature Interview this week is with Year Ahead guest, Will Greaves [12:20] where we discuss Canada-US Relations and circumpolar politics. This week’s Peeve [44:12] is the false equivalence machine.