ULiège Launches the Centre for the Study of War and Violence

Against a backdrop of widespread remilitarisation in Europe and armed conflicts that are reshaping the international order, the University of Liège has taken a significant academic step by establishing a research centre devoted to the independent and critical study of war and organised violence. Operating exclusively with funding free from conflicts of interest, the Centre for the Study of War and Violence (CSWV) aims, in particular, to strengthen the scientific foundations of a field that remains heavily influenced by the interests and perspectives of the very actors it seeks to analyse.

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n 26 May 2026, in the Kurth Lecture Theatre at Place du Vingt Août, Julien Pomarède, an Associate Professor of International Politics at the Faculty of Law, Political Science and Criminology, presented the Centre to a large audience. In his introductory remarks, he outlined three founding principles intended to promote the academic independence of research on war and defence:

“First, we will work exclusively with public research funding, thereby ensuring complete freedom in defining research questions, conducting research, and producing as well as dissaminating results,” explains Julien Pomarède. “Second, we will systematically place the devastation of war, across its epistemic (knowledge-related), human, socio-political, and environmental dimensions, at the core of our analyses, and refuse to reduce it to a mere strategic variable or an inevitable tragedy of armed confrontation. Examining the destruction of civilian lives and environments, the use of prohibited weapons, and even questioning the non-strategic logics of military violence are all research avenues that require full intellectual independence. Precisely because mass violence is so shocking, sensitive, and consequential, the issue of research independence is all the more crucial. Finally, we seek to develop active transnational cooperation in order to build an independent international research space, particularly within Europe.”

The launch event took the form of a round table moderated by Edouard Delruelle, Full Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts at ULiège. Four leading scholars addressed the theme “War, Weapons and Democracy”, illustrating the diversity of perspectives the Centre aims to bring together:

• Mathias Delori, CNRS Research Fellow at the Centre for International Studies (CERI) at Sciences Po Paris, examined forms of democratic (anti-)militarism and their historical and contemporary expressions.
• Anne Lagerwall, Professor of International Law at the Centre for International Law (CDI) at ULB, analysed the legal aspects of military interventions carried out in the name of protecting human rights and the tensions they create with the prohibition of the use of force between states.
• Benoît Pelopidas, Professor at CERI at Sciences Po Paris, explored the links between arms races, the erosion of democratic processes, and the environmental damage they produce.
• Christophe Wasinski, Professor of International Politics at the Centre for Research and Studies in International Politics (REPI) at ULB, examined the dynamics of the global arms market and their implications for democratic regimes.

Beyond its academic mission, the Centre also addresses a broader democratic challenge. At a time when Europe’s remilitarisation is often presented by political and military leaders as inevitable, Julien Pomarède emphasises the urgent need for rigorous, independent scientific scrutiny, drawing parallels with other fields that have achieved significant autonomy:

“In academia, we readily recognise that scientific independence underpins the societal value of certain fields, particularly during critical historical moments. Climate science enables us to understand and respond to climate change. Migration studies have played a key role in analysing the ‘migration crisis’ in the Mediterranean and the underlying causes of its human tragedies. Similarly, research on social inequalities and political regimes is essential for addressing growing socio-economic divides and the drift of democracies towards authoritarianism. These fields remind us that the contribution of science does not lie in reproducing the viewpoints of policy actors, but in engaging with them through critical and informed dialogue, made possible precisely by prior scientific rigour. This shift has yet to fully occur in the field of war and defence studies. The discussions held tonight have helped to objectify this observation and, above all, to demonstrate that such a transformation is both possible and desirable”.

The Centre for the Study of War and Violence therefore seeks to show that greater scientific independence in this field will enhance its societal and democratic relevance.

Centre's website