The NYU Project on the Armed Forces & Society is a joint endeavor between the Center for Global Affairs in the School of Professional Studies and the Graduate School of Arts and Science. The Project was co-directed by Professor Christopher Ankersen (SPS) and Professor Michael John Williams (GSAS).
NYU-PAFS focuses on the study of the Armed Forces & Society with the intent to engage the public and policy-makers regarding this most crucial of relationships within the state.
The focus of inquiry is international and encompasses a number of topics including civil-military relations, veterans affairs, force effectiveness and diversity, military culture, officer education and training, military institutions, ethics, unit cohesion, military families, peacemaking, privatization, public opinion, roles, missions, and legitimacy of militaries, and conflict management.
The forum is open to scholars and graduate students from across the academy welcoming political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, legal scholars, historians and economists as well as specialists in military organization and strategy, and peacekeeping.
NYU-PAFS hosts a series of discussions throughout the academic year. Many of these are open to the public, but some are by invitation only.
NYU-PAFS conducts a number of reading groups, the aim of which is to allow students (across all levels) and scholars to engage deeply with important long-form texts within the field in a collegial yet critical setting.