Conference
Call for Abstracts
The New Generation in Strategic Culture Research – STRAX Final Conference:
Helsinki, Finland | 10–12 June 2026
The STRAX research project is delighted to invite early career scholars, including PhD students, to submit abstracts for its final academic conference, The New Generation in Strategic Culture Research, to be held in Helsinki on 10–12 June 2026.
STRAX – Transforming strategic cultures in contemporary Europe is a research project funded by the Research Council of Finland, bringing together researchers from Tampere University, the Finnish National Defence University, and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Launched in early 2023, the project has focused on key contemporary issues in the academic and policy debates surrounding strategic culture in Europe. Project’s key findings point to the significance of dynamic interaction between strategic cultures, the role of diverse agents, and the fluidity and responsiveness of strategic cultures. The project has produced several peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and policy analyses and hosted numerous discussions with European researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the field of foreign and security policy.
Conference Theme
This final conference marks the culmination of the STRAX project. It will celebrate and further the project’s work by bringing together key scholars and the new generation of strategic culture students and researchers. With a focus on European perspectives, the conference provides a platform for exploring the state-of-the-art in strategic culture studies. It creates space for future collaborations, maps potential pathways forward and envisages what the future of this multidisciplinary field could look like. Key speakers include Nathalie Tocci, Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and Professor of the Practice at SAIS Europe and Sven Biscop, Acting Director-General of Egmont, Royal Institute of International Relations and Professor at Ghent University.
The conference includes a public seminar “Strategic thinking under stress: devising strategy in the evolving security landscape”. The academic programme includes plenary sessions and parallel panel sessions focused on specific themes, inviting interaction between senior and early career scholars through paper presentations and discussion. We also provide an opportunity to present a poster about your research. A brainstorming workshop on the third day of the conference focuses on the future of the field.
Important information:
Who Should Apply?
- We welcome submissions particularly from:
- Doctoral candidates
- Postdoctoral researchers and early-career scholars
Abstract Guidelines
- Maximum 200 words
- Include title, author name(s), institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and if you are submitting for poster presentation and/or panel session
- We offer two options for submitting your abstract: You can submit for panel sessions and for poster presentations. You can choose one or both when submitting your abstract.
- Please indicate your preferred format(s) when submitting your abstract.
- Abstracts should clearly outline the research question, approach, and (where applicable) preliminary findings
- Research may be based on journal articles, thesis work, or early-stage projects.
- Each participant may submit up to two abstracts.
Submission
- Abstracts and titles should be submitted by email to maria.rossi@tuni.fi. The e-mail subject line should be “STRAX final conference: abstract submission”. In the e-mail, please clearly indicate your name, contact details, affiliation, and if you are submitting for poster presentation and/or panel session.
Deadline
- 15 March 2026 (23:59 EET)
Travel/accommodation expenses
- Early career scholars may be entitled to receive support for travel costs. If you think this might apply to you, please indicate it when submitting the abstract. Applicants are encouraged to seek funding from other sources as well.
Contact
For questions, please contact the project director Hanna Ojanen, at hanna.ojanen@tuni.fi and STRAX research assistant Maria Rossi, at maria.rossi@tuni.fi
Preliminary Programme