The Intimacies of Remote Warfare is an independent, evidence-based research programme that aims to inform academic, policy, and public debates on the intimate realities of the remote wars waged by advanced militaries.
What is Remote Warfare?
In recent years, Western states have increasingly resorted to practices of remote warfare to govern threats at a distance across the Middle East and Africa. Remote warfare is a form of military interventionism characterised by a shift away from “boots on the ground” towards light-footprint operations, often outside conventional warzones. This typically entails combining the use of (drones) airstrikes from the sky while special forces, private contractors, and military training teams assist local forces to do the fighting and dying on the battlefield.
Why does it matter?
While sometimes successful in eliminating enemy combatants, practices of remote warfare carry a number of distinct consequences and wider repercussions. Remote technologies, partner forces, and private contractors allow Western militaries to physically withdraw from the battlefield. A war without soldiers is a war without body bags, meaning this physical withdrawal may entail an evasion of public oversight and scrutiny. The shadowy practices of remote warfare and the oft-repeated claim that interventions are ‘precise and clean’ means when civilian casualties are sustained, they are less likely to be made public. And when they are, a lack of transparency on who is involved and in what capacity blurs the public debate on responsibility and accountability.
This is problematic. Without tracing how creating security for some may lead to heightened insecurity for others, we run the risk of misjudging the interconnectedness of today’s war zones. This interconnectedness may lead to not only clusters of conflict cross-infecting and exacerbating each other but also augment the risk of blowback. In our digital age, it is an illusion to think that the atrocities of war will remain unseen.
What are the aims of the Intimacies of Remote Warfare Programme?
In light of the above, the Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme aims to build an independent, evidence-based expert field, which focuses on three core activities:
- Conducting cutting-edge, critical, and robust academic research
- Engaging and informing public and political debate by facilitating access to expert knowledge
- Promoting dialogue and synergy by building a network of experts in the field
For a reflection on the programme’s activities and achievements, listen to its five-year anniversary podcast episode by founders dr. Lauren Gould and prof. dr. Jolle Demmers:
On this website, you will find our own research output and a variety of other thematically relevant publications, blogs, events, and podcasts we have been inspired by in our investigations into the Intimacies of Remote Warfare.
The Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme is a project of the Contesting Governance flagship of Utrecht University’s Center for Global Challenges.
Contact
For media inquiries and any other queries, please contact Dr. Lauren Gould
Intimacies of Remote Warfare