Dual PhD candidate at Leiden University Dual PhD Centre. Working title: 'Military oaths of allegiance: ritual and commitment'.

More information about Karishma Chafekar

More information

Karishma Chafekar finished her studies English Language and Culture at Utrecht University in 2007, where she specialised in international relations. She graduated on the European Security and Defence Policy and the trans-Atlantic alliance.

After her studies, she worked in the Houses of Parliament on a project about entrepreneurship and SMEs. Subsequently, she helped raise awareness of the European Social Fund (ESF) to Dutch educational institutions, organisations, companies and civilians at the Ministry of Social Affairs. Eventually, and against all odds, Karishma became a teacher of English at a secondary school. It turned out to be a match made in heaven. Alongside her teaching position, she obtained her academic teaching degree at Utrecht University (2013).

In her current position, ‘Miss Chafekar’ is operating in a fascinating military environment at the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA) for the Defence Language Centre. She teaches academic English skills and English communication skills in an international military context to cadets and midshipmen for the Royal Netherlands Naval Institute and the Royal Netherlands Military Academy as well as at the Faculty of Military Sciences.

Her education and her work in a military officer’s environment have made her endlessly fascinated in civil-military relations, military diplomacy, speech act theory and securitisation theory. She decided to delve into military oaths in civil-military relations of democratic rules of law, which forms the basis of her PhD research. During her PhD adventure, she would like to exchange thoughts with academics, (flag and general) officers, officer-scholars, policy makers, solicitors/ barristers, magistrates, philosophers and politicians to strengthen her scientific research.