Explaining disciplinary heterogeneity in Nordic War/Military Studies

How should the diversity of Nordic War/Military Studies be explained? Despite having experienced similar external shocks to international security since the end of the Cold War, and notwithstanding their relative cultural homogeneity, university environments throughout the Nordic states have developed diverging conceptualizations of War/Military Studies. We demonstrate that this variation can be explained in terms of supply and demand factors in relation to teacher expertise and target professions for students, with proximity to the military profession as a main factor. This affect whether the subjects focus on the conduct of war or include issues in relation to the full “conflict cycle.” In addition, whereas we identify a Nordic consensus in favor of multi-disciplinary conceptualization of War/Military Studies, we find that constraining regulations for accreditation can motivate more mono-disciplinary conceptualizations. We argue that the examined factors can explain broad categorizations of conceptualization of Nordic War/Military Studies, but that further research should investigate the role of individual entrepreneurs and bureaucracy to flesh out disciplinary trajectories at the individual institutions. In conclusion, we propose that Nordic War/Military studies have the potential to converge on a shared ontological and epistemological approach, but that the field is best served by affirming divergent disciplinary foci and breadth.