While countries throughout the world rely on immigrants to support their populations and economies, access to the military is limited, denied to those who have not yet acquired citizenship.

Precluding immigrants from serving in their host country’s armed forces is an issue of moral equity and operational effectiveness. Allowing immigrants to enlist ensures that the military represents the population it serves and encourages inclusivity and cultural change within the institution, while also creating a more effective military force. The Power of Diversity in the Armed Forces investigates how different countries approach the inclusion or exclusion of immigrants in their armed forces and offers immigrant military participation as a pathway to citizenship and a way to foster greater societal integration and achieve a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive military.

By surveying international perspectives on immigrant and non-citizen military participation in twelve countries, The Power of Diversity in the Armed Forces introduces and examines a new way to unlock the power of diversity in military organizations globally.

Grazia Scoppio is a professor in the Department of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada. She is also cross-appointed in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University, and is a fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen’s.

Grazia Scoppio's profile page

Sara Greco is a policy analyst with the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group (CAF TG) in the Department of National Defence (DND) and a research fellow with the CIDP at Queen’s University.

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“The Power of Diversity in the Armed Forces opens up the conversation on a topic that currently has little literature available. This book is an excellent study on the issue of managing diversity in the armed forces around the world.” Isabelle Caron, Dalhousie University