Christensen, Bo Tandrup (2020) The limits of destruction : a critical analysis of the collateral damage dispositif. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

‘Collateral damage’ is a ubiquitous term in modern warfare. When a wedding convoy is mistaken for a group of terrorists and struck by a missile fired from a drone overhead, it is often portrayed as a tragic accident, the punctuation of an otherwise unprecedentedly clean war. Technological advances and the newest martial implements have raised expectations about the military’s conduct, it is argued. Does this newfound beneficence reflect a changing character of warfare or does it rather signify deep-seated biases and structural problems in the way US armed forces prefer to fight?

Responding to this historiographical impasse, this thesis instead asks how the armed forces themselves developed the theories, expertise, and tools to define and manage civilian casualties today. Drawing on the historical methods of Michel Foucault, it critically engages with the narrative of progress towards precise and discriminate bombardment. Through careful examination of airpower practice and discourse, it posits the gradual and uneven replacement of an indiscriminate and enormously destructive regime, or dispositif of ‘bonus damage’ with one of ‘collateral damage’. While ostensibly benign, this new dispositif gives rise to new types of victims and adverse effects. This web of regular affirmations, ever-smaller weapons, and fine-grained predictive methods obscures such effects and depoliticizes civilian casualties.

The thesis demonstrates that the dispositif of collateral damage emerged as a diverse and growing set of procedural and technical methods as well as enduring theories of victory. In this way, risks to civilians have become subject to a set of endogenized legal, strategic, and computational practices. Rather than simply accept the constraints of modern war, American armed forces have been instrumental in defining the limits of their own destructiveness and the scope of political control.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JZ International relations U Military Science > U Military Science (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	United States -- Military policy -- Moral and ethical aspects, Civilian war casualties, War -- Moral and ethical aspects
Official Date:	March 2020
Dates:	Date Event March 2020 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Vaughan-Williams, Nick ; King, Anthony, 1967-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	x, 243 leaves
Language:	eng

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