The conversation about civilian harm is our responsibility
Nike Wenthol and Marrit Woudwijk reflect on the latest judicial developments regarding Srebrenica and reflect on what lessons can be learnt?
Civilian Harm
The Casualties of Remote Warfare
Remote warfare is only remote for some. While politicians portray it as humanitarian, so-called ‘precision’ airstrikes often lead to mass civilian casualties. The distance at which this type of war is waged and the inaccessibility of its battlefields often leads to these casualties being overlooked. In recent years, however, a growing community of NGOs have utilised remote-sensing techniques to monitor local claims of 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.
Here 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.
Voices from Hawija: listening six years later
Today marks 6 years exactly since the Dutch airstrike on Hawija. Researchers at IRW Isa Zoetbrood and Guusje Bloemen together with Ali Maleki, research consultant at PAX for peace, introduce our joint ongoing research with local partner Al-Ghad that investigates the civilian harm effects of the airstrike.
Book Launch: Remote Warfare Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Contemporary warfare is becoming increasingly defined by distance. Instead of deploying large numbers of boots on the ground, many Western and non-Western states rely on support and training for local actors, employment of private military contractors and remote weaponry for airstrikes and surveillance This is remote warfare, the dominant method of military engagement employed by
Remote Warfare Round-up 008
The Remote Warfare roundup is a bi-weekly digest of unfolding news, op-eds and reports relevant to remote warfare.
The Netherlands is trying to maintain the myth of a ‘clean’ war
In his latest op-ed published in the daily paper Trouw, Jip van Dort raises a rather sinister question: What exactly do we (or are we allowed to) know about the dark side of warfare, specifically about civilian casualties?
How Remote is Remote Warfare?
Watch Intimacies of Remote Warfare project founder Prof. Jolle Demmers tackling the big questions surrounding remote warfare and call for more transparency in her recent talk for Stadium Generale.
The Risks of Special Forces Being Used Illegally
In a recent article for the Human Security Centre, IRW’s Jack Davies argues that SOF lack political oversight and legal accountability.
Remote Warfare & Civilian Harm: MoD Roadmap Towards more Transparency
IRW works with the Dutch MoD to review the way in which it deals with, reports on and accounts for civilian harm as a consequence of Dutch military efforts.
Civilian Harm, Tracking, Analysis and Response
PAX position paper calling for a broader understanding of civilian harm.
Perfect War and its Contestations
Chapter from Demmers, Gould and Snetselaar in the book, “Spaces of War, War of Spaces,” published by Bloomsbury
Dutch defence minister announces fresh transparency moves
Airwars reports on the Netherlands’ new civilian harm reporting procedures.
War/Truth: Civilian Harm in Remote Warfare
A collaborative project with Airwars at the Utrecht University Centre for Global Challenges.
The Remote Warfare Paradox
Advance preview from the forthcoming book “Remote Warfare: Interdisciplinary Perspectives” on how the democratic desire for zero-risk war lowers the threshold for military engagement.
Conflicting Truth
Airwars commemorates civilians killed in conflict for UN Protection of Civilians week.
Lauren Gould on NPO Radio 1
Project Leader Lauren Gould is interviewed on NPO Radio 1 about transparency and civilian harm in Dutch military actions.
Ignorance in war is not an excuse
The Dutch Ministry of Defence claim that they cannot know how many civilian casualties occur in their remote wars to evade accountability and public outcry. This is what Lauren Gould en Nora Stel write in their Dutch op-ed for the NRC.
Hawija Case: NGOs are unsatisfied with the quality of the Dutch Ministry of Defence aerial attack data
Unfortunately both the form and content of the data that is now published by the Dutch Ministry of Defence is not what is needed to be able to excersise democratic control, state Airwars Stichting, PAX and the The Intimacies of Remote Warfare-programma.
If you want to know the impact of Dutch bombs on Syria, ask the refugees here
Lennart Hofman and Marrit Woudwijk explore the ‘lesser truth’ of the remote warfare waged by the Netherlands in Syria, as interpreted by Syrian refugees in the Netherlands.
The Lesser Truth: Truth construction on remote warfare and the case of the US-led Anti-ISIS Coalition in Syria
Research report from Marrit Woudwijk on truth construction surrounding remote warfare and the case of the US-led Anti-ISIS Coalition in Syria
Visions of Peace Thesis Prize Award 2019 & War/Truth
Seminar on Civilian Harm in Remote Warfare, held 6th December 2019
How a Dutch Bomb killed 70 people in Iraq
NRC Daily Podcast interview with journalists Kees Versteeg and Jannie Schippers discussing the Hawija airstrike.
For Sama
A powerful record of civilian harm in the Battle of Aleppo
Remote Warfare: Remote Justice?
An assemblage approach is taken to understand how and why the members of European Forum on Drones act in dynamic alliances of states, institutions, organisations, groups, expert individuals, discourses, treaties, laws and regulations to govern the use of armed drones
(Un)Contested Frames: Frame resonance, narratives and the danger of blowback from airstrikes by the international anti-ISIL coalition.
Research report from Nora Kindermann on frame resonance, narratives and the danger of blowback from airstrikes by the international anti-ISIL coalition.
US Media Coverage of Civilian Harm in the War Against So-Called Islamic State
Reporters at US media outlets strongly believe that civilian harm should be a central component of broader war coverage. Yet non combatant casualties from US airstrikes were often poorly covered during the conflict against so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
In een ‘schone oorlog’ vloeit net zo goed bloed
Op-Ed in Trouw by Jolle Demmers and David Snetselaar.
Optimizing Coalition Air Warfare: The Emergence and Ethical Dilemmas of Red Card Holder Teams
Jacobsen and Saugmann examine the operationalisation of international law through Red Card Holders in collaborative military interventions.
City of Two Springs
Film screening about the aftermath of the Battle for Mosul, held 10th April 2019
War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality
Amnesty International and Airwars compare the rhetoric of remote warfare with the realities.
Onze Langeafstandsoorlog in Syrië en Irak
Panel discussion on the remote war waged in Iraq and Syria, held 17th December 2018
Onze Langeafstandsoorlog in Syrië en Irak
Panel discussion on the remote war waged in Iraq and Syria, held 17th December 2018
Humanitized violence: Targeted killings and civilian deaths in the US war against the Islamic State
Bonds charts the rise of ‘humanitized violence’ in the war against ISIS.
Stop de langeafstandsoorlog in Syrië en Irak
Op-Ed in Trouw by Jolle Demmers and Lauren Gould.
Eyes in the sky – bodies on the ground
Gregory on the human impacts of technological warfare.
Digital civilian detectives
This documentary from Schuchen Tan examines the use of open-source intelligence for monitoring and investigating conflict.