This workshop, entitled "The Future Canadian Soldier and Enhancement of Human Performance: A Research meets Policy" will gather scholars and policy experts from multidisciplinary fields to assess the merits of various current developments in military-focused Human Performance Enhancement.

Argument

A soldier’s limits are constantly being tested in battle. Whether one thinks back 100 years to World War I or more recently, to the War in Afghanistan, the psychological and physical effects of war are always profound. Technological and medical innovations have certainly changed our expectations about military resilience, but just how far should a soldier’s limits be pushed? Western governments manage the risks of war by acquiring capabilities to protect soldiers from harm and to increase overall endurance during demanding missions. Although often successful, the results are not always as intended. The underlying trade-off is that any kind of human performance enhancement can imperil the health of individual soldiers for the sake of greater military effectiveness. 

Recent innovations in the realm of performance enhancement appear straight out of science fiction: the integration of exoskeletons, robots and drones for the most dangerous tasks; and biological and chemical enhancements to push human performance. These capabilities will increasingly be used in future Canadian military operations. While giving our soldiers supra-normal abilities and integrating their actions with fully-automated drones improves combat effectiveness, there are moral, ethical, legal and health implications involved. This workshop, entitled “The Future Canadian Soldier and Enhancement of Human Performance: A ‘Research meets Policy’ will gather scholars and policy experts from multidisciplinary fields to assess the merits of various current developments in military-focused Human Performance Enhancement.  

Guidelines submission

We accept submissions from scholars who are interested in contributing to the workshop and to produce publishable papers (5,000-8,000 words) for the preparation of a potential special issue pending on peer review process.

Submissions deadline: 30 April 2015

Submissions to be submitted to:

• Stefanie von Hlatky svh@queensu.ca and
• Stéphanie Bélanger Stephanie.Belanger@rmc.ca

Co-hosted by CIDP and CIMVHR

Dates and venue: 17-18 Sept, Queen’s University

Scientific committee

• Stephanie Belanger, PhD, Associate Professor, Royal Military College of Canada
• Stefanie von Hlatky, PhD, Associate Professor, Queen's University
• Maj Christian Breede, PhD, Assistant Professor, Royal Military College of Canada (military rep)
• Alex Weatherhead, PhD Candidate, Queen's University (student rep)