Overseen or Overlooked? Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM (EST)
Location: New College Summer Residence (40 Willcocks St, Toronto)

The Canadian International Council’s Toronto Branch is delighted to invite you to attend a panel discussion on Overseen or Overlooked? Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability, a new and timely examination of democratic control of the military. Co-author Stephen M. Saideman joins Dani Nedal for an in-depth discussion of the book’s core arguments and findings.

While debates about civilian control usually focus on presidents, prime ministers, and defense ministers, Overseen or Overlooked? shifts attention to a frequently neglected actor: legislatures. Drawing on more than a dozen democratic case studies, the book explores why parliamentary oversight of the armed forces so often falls short, the capability and incentive gaps legislators face, and the consequences for democratic accountability. It also offers practical, realistic reforms aimed at strengthening oversight of the military by elected representatives and, ultimately, the public.

To register, please follow this link.

About the Speaker:

Stephen Saideman holds the Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and is the Director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network. He has written five books: The Ties That Divide: Ethnic Politics, Foreign Policy and International Conflict; For Kin or Country: Xenophobia, Nationalism and War (with R. William Ayres); NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone (with David Auerswald); Adapting in the Dust: Lessons Learned from Canada’s War in Afghanistan; and Overseen or Overlooked: Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability (with David Auerswald and Philippe Lagassé), edited two others, and published articles and chapters on nationalism, ethnic conflict, civil war, alliance dynamics, and civil-military relations. Prof. Saideman has received fellowships from the Council on Foreign Relations, the Social Sciences Research Council, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The first placed Saideman on the Bosnia desk of the Strategic Planning and Policy Directorate of US Joint Staff for a year, the second facilitated research in Japan, and the third placed him as a Fellow at the Hertie School in Berlin. He taught previously at the University of Vermont, Texas Tech University, and McGill University.

About the Moderator:

Dani Nedal (PhD, Georgetown University) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, jointly appointed at the Department of Political Science and the Munk School. His work focuses on topics related to global security and international order. His research focuses on topics of global security and international order. He is writing a book entitled Urban Warfare and Urban Peace, exploring the relationship between urban geography and interstate conflict. His work has been published in various peer-reviewed journals, books, and outlets aimed at policy-makers and the broader public.

Nedal has previously taught at Carnegie Mellon University’s Institute for Politics and Strategy, the U.S. Army War College’s Department of National Security and Strategy, and Georgetown University. In 2019 he received a Wimmer Faculty Fellowship for innovative teaching on critical reading. He has held fellowships at MIT’s Security Studies Program (Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow), Yale University’s International Security Studies program (Smith Richardson Predoctoral Fellow) and the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (Research Fellow on ESRC and AHRC-funded project on Trust-Building in Nuclear Worlds). He has also worked with International Studies Quarterly, Aberystwyth University, Getulio Vargas Foundation, and the China-Brazil Business Council.

There will be a book signing with Stephen M. Saideman at the conclusion of the event. Copies of Overseen or Overlooked? Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability will be available for purchase—click here to buy your copy online.