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  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Future Issues And Technology (FIT)
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
      • MSc (Strategic Studies)
      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
      • How to Apply
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      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
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      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
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    • RSIS
    • CENS Seminar 1 by Professor Erik Gartzke, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

    CENS Seminar 1 by Professor Erik Gartzke, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

    No Humans Were Harmed in the Making of this War: The Nature and Consequences of 'Costless' Combat

    07 Jul 2014 11:00 - 12:00
    RSIS Conference Room 2
    Type: Lectures / Seminars
    Public
    For Enquiries: [email protected]
    Google Calendar

    Abstract

    New technologies make it possible to consider circumstances in which no human beings are directly involved in combat for one or both sides in a conflict.  How might this decline in human activity on the battlefield (asymmetric or symmetric) shape the role of war in the modern world?  As automated systems replace people on the front lines, does this mean that conflict will become “costless” in human terms, or does the logic of war still demand human sacrifice?  While considerable speculation exists about the effects of technology on war, relatively little attention has been devoted to understanding how new modes of combat intersect with established motives for using force.  I explore these political dimensions of automated conflict.  To the degree that substituting machines for humans in combat lowers the costs for fighting, warfare should become more frequent but also less informative.  At the same time, however, use of automated combatant systems that minimize battlefield casualties will also encourage increased targeting of civilians. 

     

    About the Speaker

    Erik Gartzke is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego, and Professor of Government at the University of Essex. His research interests include nuclear security, the liberal peace, international institutions and the evolving nature of warfare.  He has written on the effects of commerce, economic development, system structure and climate change on war.  Professor Gartzke’s research has appeared in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the British Journal of Political Science, International Organization, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the Journal of Politics, World Politics, and elsewhere.

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    CENS Seminar 1 by Professor Erik Gartzke, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

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