Dr. Lauren Gould

Project leader and Assistant Professor in Conflict Studies

Lauren Gould is Assistant Professor in Conflict Studies and the project leader of the Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme. Gould's research projects study how the US has spearheaded this form of military engagement, but also how many other advanced militaries are following suit. Gould's research projects trace how remote warfare is legitimized, what military alliances are forged, what technologies are used and how these actors and technologies interact and have an impact on civilian harm. From a conflict and critical security studies perspective her aim is to conceptualise the changing character of war in the 21st century. Gould has conducted fieldwork in Uganda, South Sudan and in Iraq in collaboration with NGO PAX for Peace. She has also conducted fieldwork closer to home, including the Netherlands, UK and Belgium. Gould is a Utrecht University (UU) Public Engagement fellow, a core member of the Centre for Global Challenges and the IOS Contesting Governance platform, and sits on the board of the Nuhanovic Foundation. In 2019-2020 she participated in the UU Westerdijk Programme for talented female scholars. She is a lecturer at the Centre for Conflict Studies and the coordinator of the minor Conflict Studies. She is the founder and coordinator of the UU Summer School 'Contemporary Conflict Analysis: Actors, Issues & Technologies of 21st Century Warfare', designed for practioners and (international) students.

by Dr. Lauren Gould: