Our activities

UNIDEF Events, co-organized by Institut militaire de Québec, École supérieure d'études internationales and the CSI, is an annual event for military and academic reflection and exchange on defense and security issues. These events contribute to a better understanding of the missions and actions of the Canadian Forces, and effectively raise their profile; they reinforce Québec City's position as a city with a great military tradition and as one of Canada's major garrison towns; and they raise awareness of Canadian defence issues among civil society, particularly among future leaders called upon to serve in government and international institutions. Since 2010, UNIDEF have addressed the following topics: the strategies of influence and the stakes of regional powers in current conflicts; the security of major events; the meaning of military power; cyber defence; naval projection; operational cooperation; and the diversity of defence issues.

• UNIDEF 14 : Consequences and repercussions of contemporary tensions and wars on international institutions (March 2023) ;
• UNIDEF 13 : Information Warfare: current issues and multidisciplinary perspectives (March 2022) ;
• UNIDEF 12 : Non-traditional missions assigned to the armed forces (March 2021) 
• UNIDEF 11 : Hot or cold, is war on the horizon? (March 2020) ;
• UNIDEF 10 : Diversity and Defence of Canada (March 2019) ;
• UNIDEF 9 : The war of the future (March 2018) ;
• UNIDEF 8 : The grey zone: the military and multiform security (March 2017) ;
• UNIDEF 7 : Operational cooperation, a burden to be shared (March 2016) ;
• UNIDEF 6 : Drones: an essential tool, legitimate questions (March 2015) ;
• UNIDEF 5 : Naval projection: highly sought-after capabilities (March 2014) ;
• UNIDEF 4 : Cyberdefense: a crucial challenge, an essential consideration (March 2013) ;
• UNIDEF 3 : The meaning of military power: limits, challenges and prospects (March 2012) ;
• UNIDEF 2 : Safety at major events: a multifaceted challenge (March 2011) ;
• UNIDEF 1 : Regional agendas and conflicts - "Strategies of influence and the stakes of powers in current conflicts" (March 2010).

Ce forum est un évènement majeur sur les grands enjeux de la sécurité internationale avec une expertise francophone. Il est organisé en partenariat depuis 2014 avec le Centre d'études et de recherches internationales, la Chaire Raoul-Dandurand en études stratégiques et diplomatiques et l'École supérieure des études internationales. L'objectif de ce forum est de pouvoir échanger sur les multiples dimensions de la sécurité internationale avec de multiples experts francophones : professionnels, universitaires, chercheurs, membres de la communauté des affaires, journalistes ou encore représentants de la société civile.

This forum is a major event on predominant international security issues with Francophone expertise. It has been organized in partnership since 2014 with Centre d'études et de recherches internationales, Chaire Raoul-Dandurand en études stratégiques et diplomatiques and École supérieure des études internationales. The aim of this forum is to exchange views on the multiple dimensions of international security with multiple French-speaking experts: professionals, academics, researchers, members of the business community, journalists or even representatives of civil society.

• 2022 Edition : Security in a world divided by strategic competition
• 2021 Edition : From instability to global cooperation: solutions for a new decade
• 2020 Edition : The global economy in the age of Covid-19 & Multilateralism put to the test by the pandemic
• 2019 Edition : Deterrence, projection, manipulation: the uses of power and their limits
• 2018 Edition : Trump's effect on international geopolitics
• 2017 Edition : Third edition - Saint-Laurent Forum on International Security
• 2016 Edition : Second edition - Saint-Laurent Forum on International Security

Summer School: Conflict and Intervention is a multidisciplinary summer school that aims to approach armed conflict and international military intervention from different perspectives. Its aim is to establish the concepts of "conflict" and "intervention" and other related concepts. Over the course of an intensive week, this summer school provides the theoretical foundations needed to understand these phenomena, as well as the viewpoints of numerous practitioners in the field (military, humanitarian actors, journalists, staff of international organizations, etc.). Summer School: Conflict and Intervention fosters exchanges between disciplines, bringing them into dialogue whenever possible. Its aim is to enable students to approach any situation of crisis or violence with a critical perspective. The summer school is divided into thirteen ½ days based on three axes:

1. Pre-conflict or pre-intervention phase ;
2. Conflict and intervention as such ;
3. Consequences of conflict and intervention.

Summer schools are high-level training courses aimed primarily at:

• graduate students;
• and professionals.

Under certain conditions, we accept some students who have completed their 1st cycle (60 credits obtained). The course is "worth" 3 credits (from 2^nd or 3^rd cycle), and the same number for the 1^st cycle. At the end of the summer school, non-students are awarded Continuing Education Units.

This multi-disciplinary summer school aims to approach peacebuilding issues from a variety of disciplines, with the participation of a number of practitioners in the field.

More specifically, the Summer School: Peacebuilding aims to:

1. Present the history, environment and actors involved in the genesis and contemporary implementation of the concept of peacebuilding;
2. Understand the strategic tools available to the United Nations for peacebuilding;
3. Analyze the evolution of the main principles and instruments of international justice and transitional justice;
4. Present some of the main peacebuilding themes through country studies or thematic analyses (political transitions, land issues, justice and peacebuilding, security sector reform, DDR, etc.);
5. Understand the difficulties of implementing peacebuilding by analyzing a particular national case study and studying other similar situations.

This summer school enables participants to develop an informed opinion on all these issues through exchanges between academics and professionals. These discussions will draw on past experiences both in Canada and abroad. This unique training course is therefore an opportunity to enrich your social networks through formal and informal exchanges between participants. But it's also an opportunity to put your knowledge of these subjects into practice: activities combining theory and practice are planned throughout the course.

Summer schools are high-level training courses aimed primarily at:

• graduate students;
• and professionals.

Under certain conditions, we accept some students who have completed their 1st cycle (60 credits obtained). The course is "worth" 3 credits (from 2^nd or 3^rd cycle), and the same number for the 1^st cycle. At the end of the summer school, non-students are awarded Continuing Education Units.

Rightly or wrongly, terrorism and the fight against it have been on everyone's agenda since the turn of the century. A highly complex and over-politicized issue, it often gives rise to ill-considered positions. The problem is that these positions usually involve social, legal, economic, police and military transformations that can have a major impact on societies. It is therefore essential to be clear about them.

Summer schools are high-level training courses aimed primarily at:

• graduate students;
• and professionals.

Under certain conditions, we accept some students who have completed their 1st cycle (60 credits obtained). The course is "worth" 3 credits (from 2^nd or 3^rd cycle), and the same number for the 1^st cycle. At the end of the summer school, non-students are awarded Continuing Education Units.

History of previous editions:

• 2019 : Intelligence and international terrorism;
• 2018 : The return of foreign fighters;
• 2017 : Radicalization and deradicalization;
• 2014 : Terrorism Inc: between idealism and commercialism;
• 2013 : The real and virtual territories of insecurity;
• 2012 : Terrorism 2.0: apprehending the real threat and tracking the invisible.