This year’s conference brought together leading representatives of government, the military, international institutions and universities to reflect on how best to prepare military commanders and government officials to plan and conduct complex stability campaigns. The primary purpose was to gain a better understanding, not only of what has been learned from previous campaigns, but also – and more importantly – how military and civilian leaders “learn to learn”, that is, how they acquire the capacity to comprehend the situations they are in, and to respond effectively. Panels focused on learning at the strategic and operational levels, on learning by non-military actors, and on the role of the academic, policy and media communities. Keynote speakers included the Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of Defence; Major General Mike Ward, Chief of Force Development, Canadian Forces; Stephen Johnson, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Colonel Mike Capstick, SA, CLS, Canadian Forces. See below for available downloads.

The conference was hosted and organized by Queen's Centre for International Relations (QCIR), and The Defence Management Studies Program at Queen's, together with the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College (USAWC), and the Canadian Land Forces Doctrine and Training System (LFDTS). 

Documents

KCIS-2007 Conference Report (156kb)