Most organisations say they empower their people. Few are designed to let them. This morning I taught at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm. We began with a question that matters in boardrooms as much as in military HQs: how do organisations manage uncertainty? 🧵

Come for the graphic design, stay for a great military studies conference!

Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies@sjms.bsky.social · 3w ago

SAVE THE DATE: Next year, the biannual NATO in the Nordics conference will be held in Copenhagen. Stay tuned for call for papers!

Eisenhower's matrix looks like time management advice. It isn't. It's about what an organisation is for. One general in our research put it more simply: do only what you alone can do. The rest should be delegated. The delegated work doesn't matter less. The point is that it isn't yours.

Finding peer reviewers is harder than ever. Yet we can't complain about poor feedback on our submissions if we aren't willing to review others'. If we want better reviews, we must do them. And systems must reward reviewing, mentoring, and chairing like publications. Lend a hand; lighten the load!

Today in Denmark, the Dannebrog flies for those who went when asked, for those who never came back, and for those who still struggle. #flagdag

Talkers and doers: a 🧵 on military knowledge. Rommel's comparison itself is flawed; the businessman and the professor never shared an objective. But the deeper problem is what military officers mean by "reality": in my experience, doctrine, or whatever the staff college drilled into them.

Talkers and doers: a 🧵 on military knowledge. Rommel's comparison itself is flawed; the businessman and the professor never shared an objective. But the deeper problem is what military officers mean by "reality": in my experience, doctrine, or whatever the staff college drilled into them.

Today is Valdemar's Day 🇩🇰 According to legend, on this date in 1219, Dannebrog, the Danish flag, fell from the sky during the Danes’ hour of need in the battle of Lyndanisse at modern-day Tallinn, Estonia.

Sad to learn that Stephen Bungay passed away in mid-May. I met him on several occasions and continue to recommend “The Art of Action” as an introduction to what we in the military call mission command. Or alignment through an intent. Nobody explained that more succinctly than Stephen. RIP

Sun’s out, grades are in. Looking back at this semester’s INTEL course at the University of Copenhagen. (1) It's (still) deeply rewarding to grade exams and see how the students have grasped the material. (2) Yet I am deeply worried about their use of Generative AI (it's far more than the em-dash)

Being awarded the St. Germain medal for my work in military science is a profound honour. The most important part is the conversation that opens about the future of our profession. Military science is (should be) a constant inquiry, not a set of static rules. More on the link. In Danish, though.

Tildeling af Saint Germain medaljen til Søren Sjøgren :: Krigsvidenskab.dk

krigsvidenskab.dk

One pertinent problem in military studies is access to classified and restricted settings and handling that information in the research process. Join us on 17 September to discuss approaches and challenges. Hosts: @sjms.bsky.social & @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social Learn more 👇 #civmilsky #milsky

Workshop on research in classified environments

The Research School for War and Defence together with the Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies invites doctoral students and researchers to a workshop on research in classified environments, metho...

fhs.se

One pertinent problem in military studies is access to classified and restricted settings and handling that information in the research process. Join us on 17 September to discuss approaches and challenges. Hosts: @sjms.bsky.social & @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social Learn more 👇 #civmilsky #milsky

Workshop on research in classified environments

The Research School for War and Defence together with the Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies invites doctoral students and researchers to a workshop on research in classified environments, metho...

fhs.se

Workshop: Research in Classified Environments (17 Sept, Stockholm) Join us for a discussion of the tension between academic rigour and security necessities. Hosted by: @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social (PhD school) & @sjms.bsky.social Details & application: See link below.

Workshop on research in classified environments

The Research School for War and Defence together with the Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies invites doctoral students and researchers to a workshop on research in classified environments, metho...

fhs.se

Workshop: Research in Classified Environments (17 Sept, Stockholm) Join us for a discussion of the tension between academic rigour and security necessities. Hosted by: @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social (PhD school) & @sjms.bsky.social Details & application: See link below.

Workshop on research in classified environments

The Research School for War and Defence together with the Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies invites doctoral students and researchers to a workshop on research in classified environments, metho...

fhs.se

Deeply honoured to receive the St. Germain medal from the Danish Society for Military Science last night. 🎖️ Only 28 recipients since 1924, it’s a humbling reminder of the giants who have shaped Danish military thinking. As an officer & philosopher, I’m grateful for the recognition. (1/5)

A new effect term just dropped: total systemic fiction

@thinkingbayonet.bsky.social · 6mo ago

USSOUTHCOM PAO: Grok give me a description for our drone strikes in the Caribbean but make it sound real badass, like what someone who has read On War but who has also been hit in the head with a brick would say Grok: Applying total systemic friction on the cartels USSOUTHCOM PAO: Hell yeah

Map or mirror? Doctrine and military transformation New research by Nisser argues that doctrine’s best role is to act as a catalyst for debate, not as a top-down driver of change. Transformation happens through professional friction. Practice leads; the manual follows. A short doctrine 🧵

European Journal of International Security@ejisbisa.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🪖 NEW: "Beyond the manual: Doctrine’s role in military transformation reconsidered" by John Nisser (@forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social). Open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Is military doctrine a manual or a conversation starter? 🪖 Nisser argues that doctrine isn't just a top-down tool for change. It’s a tool for debate, the catalyst for the professional friction needed to change from the bottom up. Practice usually leads the pen. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

"You can never delegate responsibility." The news that Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated soldier, has been arrested and charged with 5x murder has triggered shockwaves. A short 🧵 on comand responsibility.

"Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had serious concerns about the war... but he was so careful not to take a stand (...) that he could appear to some to argue all sides simultaneously." 👉 There is a fine line between being careful and absent www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/u...

6 Takeaways From the Story of Trump’s Decision to Go to War With Iran

nytimes.com

"Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had serious concerns about the war... but he was so careful not to take a stand (...) that he could appear to some to argue all sides simultaneously." 👉 There is a fine line between being careful and absent www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/u...

6 Takeaways From the Story of Trump’s Decision to Go to War With Iran

nytimes.com

ok but shooting down airplanes with surface to air missiles and IR sensors isn't asymmetric anything

The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 6mo ago

The shooting down of two American warplanes was the most serious example of Tehran’s ability to raise the cost of the war for Washington

NATO’s C2 COE just dropped its 2025–2026 C2 publication bundle. Less of a critical deep-dive and more of an AltaVista-style link collection for Command & Control. Still, it’s a goldmine if you need a comprehensive map of the C2/MDO landscape right now. 🔗 c2coe.org/command-and-...

NATO’s C2 COE just dropped its 2025–2026 C2 publication bundle. Less of a critical deep-dive and more of an AltaVista-style link collection for Command & Control. Still, it’s a goldmine if you need a comprehensive map of the C2/MDO landscape right now. 🔗 c2coe.org/command-and-...

We’re sleepwalking into a crisis of representational sovereignty, if we are already there. Staffs are tempted to substitute judgment (hard to manage) for metrics (easy to process). What the article adds is that the metics are now defined by contractors. warontherocks.com/2026/03/the-...

The U.S. Military Risks Letting Contractors Define How It Sees the Battlefield

In the 1964 black comedy Dr. Strangelove, an emergency war plan called “Plan R” allows an unhinged U.S. Air Force commander, Jack Ripper, to launch a

warontherocks.com

Command Without Control? NATO’s Cross Domain Command concept (2025) challenges military leadership: In a multi-domain world, you must command what you can’t control. The big change is a move from hierachy to fluid networks. Short teaching note (open access): research.fak.dk/esploro/outp...

Command Without Control? NATO’s Cross Domain Command concept (2025) challenges military leadership: In a multi-domain world, you must command what you can’t control. The big change is a move from hierachy to fluid networks. Short teaching note (open access): research.fak.dk/esploro/outp...

Come work with us 👇

Søren Sjøgren@sorensjogren.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Three open positions at the assistant/associate level at the Royal Danish Defence College. 📅 Deadline 29 March. 👉 Military Operations: candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI... 👉 AI, new technologies and frontline leadership: candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI... Reach out if you have questions

Three open positions at the assistant/associate level at the Royal Danish Defence College. 📅 Deadline 29 March. 👉 Military Operations: candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI... 👉 AI, new technologies and frontline leadership: candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI... Reach out if you have questions

The Royal Danish Defence College invites applications for Associate Professor in Military Operations or Assistant Professor

We are looking for expertise in the study of warfare and military operations, including (but not limited to) intelligence, military theory, country- or region-s

candidate.hr-manager.net