Martijn Kitzen is professor by special appointment in Military Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs. His chair focuses on operational deployments of the military and is established and funded by the Royal Netherlands Society for War Studies (KVBK) in cooperation with the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA). Martijn also is professor in irregular warfare and special operations at the NLDA and acts as the chair of the Faculty of Military Sciences’ War Studies department. His research and teaching focus on military operations with a particular interest in special operations forces and irregular warfare.

Martijn has published extensively about these topics and most recently co-edited the books The Conduct of War in the 21^st Century and Into the Void: Special Operations Forces after the War on Terror. He regularly lectures at various international military institutes and staff colleges and his research activities include previous fellowships at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Centre as well as field work in Afghanistan and the Sahel region.

In addition to his scholarly work, Martijn has been involved in pre-deployment training and advise for various nations, worked as in-theatre advisor in Afghanistan and the Sahel, and served as academic advisor for the revision of NATO’s AJP 3.4.4 (counterinsurgency). Martijn holds a PhD in history, a MA in political science, and is a graduate of the Royal Netherlands Military Academy. As a former military officer, he has experience in NATO and UN missions.

Publications