Colloque: Mobilization(s)

Location: Military school, Paris

Date: April 30, 2025

Partners: ACADEM, Sorbonne University, Eastern Circles, IHEDN

The return of war to Europe on February 24, 2022, has highlighted the extraordinary resilience of Ukraine, particularly its ability to swiftly and extensively mobilize its population and resources to confront a high-intensity conflict with constrained means. This feat has drawn significant admiration.

Yet, the traditional image of “mobilization” – mass conscription driven by wartime propaganda – contrasts sharply with the complex societal adaptations required in modern conflict, including addressing shortages, losses, and evolving labor dynamics. The Ukrainian experience compels a re-evaluation of how societies prepare and sustain themselves in war, a concept largely sidelined by political sensitivities and the era of expeditionary warfare.

This symposium offers a crucial platform for historians, sociologists, political scientists, practitioners, and witnesses to collectively reflect on and redefine 21st-century mobilization, shifting the focus from mass conscription to the strategic deployment of specialized skills and expertise.

PROGRAM

8:45 a.m.: Opening remarks by GCA de Courrèges, Director of IHEDN

Panel 1: Mobilisation, putting a historical concept into perspective (Professor Olivier Forcade, Sorbonne University)

9-9:20 a.m.: France in 1914, total mobilisation? (Michael Bourlet, Associate Professor of History)

9:20–9:40 a.m.: ‘Wollt Ihr den Totalen Krieg?’ Nazi Germany: radical mobilisation? (Professor Johann Chapoutot, Sorbonne University)

9:40–10 a.m.: A time of revolt? Conscription refusal, 1960–1970 (Senior Lecturer Julien Hage, Paris Nanterre)

10:00-10:30: Discussion

Panel 2: Today’s case: Ukraine (Anastasiya Shapochkina, President of the Eastern Circles think tank)

10:45-11:05: What is mobilisation in Ukraine: foundations and realities (Céline Bayou, DGRIS)

11:05-11:20: Testimony from Vladyslav Greziev, head of Ukraine’s largest online recruitment platform, Lobby X.1

11:20-11:40: Testimony from Yaroslav Kalinin, head of recruitment for the K-2 unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces 2

11:40-12:15: Discussion

Lunch

Panel 3: How should we respond? European states and societies face the challenge of mobilisation (Professor Jean-Noël Luc, Scientific Council for Historical Research on Defence)

14:00-14:20: A purely military response? NATO and its new stance (French officer, TBC)

2:20pm-2:40pm: Industrial mobilisation: the case of a French defence manufacturer (Admiral Stanislas Gourlez de la Motte, Naval Advisor to the CEO of Naval Group)

2:40pm-3pm: The European Union’s response (Philippe Perchoc, IRSEM Brussels)

3pm-3:30pm: Discussion

Panel 3 – continued

3:45 p.m. – 4:05 p.m.: The issue of reserves (GDI François-Xavier Poisbeau, Secretary General of the National Military Rank)

4:05 p.m. – 4:25 p.m.: The debate on conscription: the eternal return? (Lecturer Bénédicte Chéron, Catholic Institute of Paris)

4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Discussion

Conclusion: A new vision (GCA Givre, Director of National Service and Youth)