Human security, TWAIL, and the importance of self-reflection in our own scholarship

Reflecting on our work is an important practice that allows us to be more critical, and ultimately, improve as researchers. When we publish our outputs, we identify gaps in literature and regularly implore other scholars to pursue angles that could not fit within the confines of a single article. We encourage students to view published work with a critical eye, assessing its flaws, and some jurisdictions make regular use of ‘reflection papers’ for undergraduate and postgraduate courses alike. In addition, we regularly ask students to self-reflect on their learning, to identify the approaches they have used and how these have enhanced their experience and enriched their contributions to the course. But what about academics? Do we reflect enough on our scholarship?