We hope that you are enjoying the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies' Security and Defense Studies Review in its new format, which now includes paper and well as cyber copies. If you have not yet seen the 2009 mega-edition of the Review, which includes both Issues 1 & 2, please visit our Web site at www.ndu.edu/chds. Your feedback is, of course, always welcome.  

For the Fall/Winter issue this year, we are planning an in-depth look at the participation of women in security and defense careers in the Western Hemisphere, where some countries not only already include some of the highest number of women in defense and security professions per capita in the world, but one professional--former President Bachelet of Chile--became the chief executive of her own country.

Among the issues we hope to address in the Fall/Winter edition are the following:

• Questions of gender in a variety of different contexts, including global; regional; military, police, and peacekeeping; and security and defense institution building;
• An examination of what currently exists in terms of career paths for women in security and defense; what has worked and what more needs to be done to help ensure gender equity, including analyses of what countries have already done (or could do), both in terms of political appointments and in the civil service, to ensure both paths are open to women;
• Potential opportunities for women as a result of both the expansion of, and changes in, the roles and missions of security and defense forces, where relevant;
• Country-specific examples from the Western Hemisphere of where measures have been taken to ensure equitable education and training opportunities for women.
• Role of women in science, technology, education, and math (hard skill sets) in supporting national security institutions.
• The roles of women in security and defense in comparative perspective, with emphasis on region, but also in comparison with other regions.

Among the questions we hope these and other topics help answer are the following:

• How does gender inclusion and mainstreaming contribute to effective security and defense institution building?
• How do considerations of gender inform action plans, directives and operations in the military, police and peacekeeping context?
• What is being done and what is missing for implementation and education?'
• What is the role of the media in Perception and Reality vis-à-vis women in defense and security?

We are asking for two types of submissions for consideration for publication.
The first category will  be comprised of standard academic papers of between 5,000-12,000 words in length examining these and other related issues. Those interested in offering these kinds of contributions are encouraged to take a look at the most recent issue of the Security and Defense Studies Review so as to keep papers submitted as close as possible to standard SDSR format.

The second type of contributions we seek are 500-1,000 word contributions by women security and defense professionals about their own experiences. Of particular interest are those stories which address obstacles faced; personal strategies used to contribute to individual advancement, professional education and training, and institutional awareness; the roles of mentors; continued challenges, and new opportunities. (Please note: We do not wish to publish contributions heavy with rhetorical flourishes or unseemly generalizations; we do want frank, sincere, insightful and refreshing looks at critical issues women face, in their own words, based on their own experiences.) 

We also welcome a smaller number of pieces of the same length written by men that help promote understanding and dialogue about critical issues facing women professionals in defense and security. These, too, should avoid rhetorical and time-worn devices, and focus on insights based on personal experience and observation.

The deadline for submission of both types of contributions is September 17th, after which we will select no more than 10 articles from the first category and 15 from the second for publication. We hope to publish this dedicated volume before the end of this year.

We look forward to offering our readers the very best views on an exciting topic. And, for that, we need to hear from those of you out there who want to help bring these to our growing international audience.

Best regards,
Mick Andersen, Editor
Security and Defense Studies Review