Når dem, vi skader i krig, er laangt væk…

Seminar on The Paradox of collateral damage will be conducted in English and live streamed on www.diis.dk

For those also attending the afternoon seminar, 13:00-17:00, “Nuclear Weapons and Democratic Politics: Contemporary Insights and Cold War Legacies”, sandwiches will be served.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form on

https://www.conferencemanager.dk/theparadoxofcollateraldamage/sign-up.html

And do so no later than Monday, 16 May at 12.00 noon.

Background

Injury is the central activity of war, and the killing of civilians in war is legitimated in existing rules of international law. Yet, the act of injuring human bodies is often omitted from accounts of war.

In this respect, the notion of lawful collateral damage (følgeskadevirkninger) in war presents us with a paradox.

On the one hand, we pay increasing attention to the problem of collateral damage, which today stands at the forefront of the politics of war and conflict.

On the other hand, we strongly emphasize that we have no responsibility towards those we kill and harm, and we mostly close our eyes to their suffering.

Aerial attacks in Syria

Operation “Inherent Resolve” against IS in Syria and Iraq offers a good example. With more than 11.500 aerial attacks, many in urban areas, the coalition partners deny the occurrence of any significant collateral damage, and the democratic regimes underpinning the coalition seem to accept this obvious mistruth.

This seminar addresses the history and language of accidental injury in war.

It will include a discussion of Frederik Rosén’s new book, Collateral Damage; A Candid History of a Peculiar Form of Death, (2016), as well as the work of Elaine Scarry. Scarry’s book, The Body in Pain (1985) has become a landmark for discussions of injuries to the human body in torture and war.

The seminar seeks to make sense of the paradox of collateral damage and shed light on what it means for our understanding of nuclear weapons.

Speakers

Robin May Schott, Senior Researcher, Peace, risk and violence, DIIS
Frederik Rosén, Senior Researcher, International Security, DIIS
Elaine Scarry, Professor of aesthetics and general theory of value, Harvard University
Stefano Guzzini, Senior Researcher, Foreign Policy, DIIS

Programme

Læs videre på

http://www.diis.dk/en/event/the-paradox-of-collateral-damage