Eyes in the sky – bodies on the ground
Article
Gregory on the human impacts of technological warfare.
Here you will find a variety of relevant publications, op-eds, events, and podcasts published by ourselves and others.
Remote warfare is only remote for some. While politicians portray it as riskless, algorithmic targeting and ‘precision’ airstrikes often lead to widescale civilian casualties. These casualties are often denied, kept secret or undercounted to maintain the myth of a clean war. In response, a growing community of scholars and NGOs have utilised remote-sensing techniques to monitor civilian harm. The resulting contestation of the exact numbers of civilian casualties has provoked intense debate. This raises pressing questions about the impact of the violence executed and democratic control.
Vicarious warfare: The counterproductive consequences of modern American military practice
Article
Thomas Waldman details how delegation, darkness and danger-proofing contribute to blowback effects for states waging remote warfare.
Digital civilian detectives
Documentary
This documentary from Schuchen Tan examines the use of open-source intelligence for monitoring and investigating conflict.
Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars
Documentary
This documentary presents an overview of remote warfare's inconvenient truths: violations of international law, loss of innocent life, psychological and societal trauma, and potential blowback.
Drone Warfare in Yemen: Fostering Emirates through Counterterrorism?
Article
Hudson, Owens and Callen examine the political blowback of drone trikes in Yemen.
Drone warfare: Blowback from the New American way of war
Article
Hudson, Owens and Flannes investigate the radicalising effects of targeted killings.
Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of an American Empire
Book
Chalmers Johnson on the unintended outcomes of covert operations.