Event summary: Hostile terrain - researching gender and abuse in the military amid backlash and backsliding

On Monday 30 June, the Critical Military Studies Working Group were joined by Megan MacKenzie (Simon Fraser University), Elin Berg (Swedish Defence University), Beth Greener (Massey University), Colleen Shoenfeld (California Institute of Integral Studies), and Nancy Taber (Brock University) for a virtual roundtable to reflect on the challenges of researching gender, abuse, and culture in the military in the present moment. Throughout 2025, we have watched as numerous organisations and government departments – including the Department of Defense – across the USA began rolling back their DEI ( diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies and programmes, some with the explicit desire of bringing “masculine energy” back into the workplace. While it may not be as visible, this phenomenon is not unique to the US-context: anti-liberal politics are increasingly being mobilised in confusing and varied ways across different countries to reconfigure laws and policies. 

This roundtable brought together researchers from various career-stages and national contexts to reflect on how this current environment is impacting their work and to share their insights on how we can move forward in this space. The discussion covered issues such as the backlash researchers face for doing work in this area, the importance of setting boundaries, making space for rest and creativity, and the ebbs and flows of institutional interest in this topic. You can hear the powerful reflections shared by our roundtable participants by watching the recording of the event below.