In 2018, dr. Lauren Gould and Prof. dr. Jolle Demmers founded The Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme to investigate how and why Western advanced militaries increasingly turn to remote forms of interventionism. They set out to think through what this remoteness does with our understanding of what war is and our willingness to wage war, as well as reflect on how remoteness in turn creates new and unforeseen intimate relationships and conflict dynamics. In this podcast Jolle and Lauren reflect on what the programme has achieved in the last 5 years and what it sets out to achieve in the coming 5 years.
The Intimacies of Remote Warfare is an evidence-based research program that aims to inform academic, public and policy debates on the intimate realities of remote wars waged by advanced militaries. It investigates the politics, operations, technologies, and political economy of remote warfare, as well as its impact on civilian harm and blowback. IRW engages with key stakeholders to participate in expert round tables, co-create knowledge, and formulate policy recommendations. For more information and current research see https://intimacies-of-remote-warfare.nl/
The podcast was produced as part of a research lab in the master's program Conflict Studies and Human Rights at UU.
Key readings:
Demmers, J. & Gould, L. M. (2018). An Assemblage Approach to Liquid Warfare: AFRICOM and the 'hunt' for Joseph Kony. Security Dialogue 49(5), 364-381.
Demmers, J. & Gould, L. (2020). The Remote Warfare Paradox. In Remote Warfare: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. E-International Relations Publishing Collected Volume.
Gould L & Stell N (2021). Strategic ignorance and the legitimation of remote warfare: The Hawija bombardments. Security Dialogue 53 (1): 57-74
Gould et al. (2022). In After the Strike: Exposing the Civilian Harm Effects of the 2015 Dutch Airstrike on Hawija. Utrecht University/PAX/Al-Ghad.
Gould, L.M. et al. (2023). Innovating Algorithmic Warfare: Experimentation with Information Manoeuvre beyond the Boundaries of the Law. Global Society.
