Culturally sensitive war? The Human Terrain System and the seduction of ethics

Bibliographic Data

ID7100367
AuthorsMaja Zehfu (0000-0003-4651-4229, University of Manchester, corresponding author), Maja Zehfuss (University of Manchester)
Year2012
Volume43
Issue2
Pages175-190
Publication date2012-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSecurity Dialogue (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0967-0106 • E-ISSN: 1460-3640
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0967010612438431
OpenAlexW2074862258
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited14

Since around 2005, efforts have been made within the US military to highlight the significance of culture or the ‘human terrain’ for counterinsurgency operations. The US Army responded to the asserted ‘cultural knowledge gap’ by establishing an experimental programme called the Human Terrain System (HTS), which involves deploying social scientists alongside combat forces. While HTS was received favourably in the US mainstream media, it has been fiercely criticized by anthropologists in particular, who argue not least that participation in the programme would constitute a violation of their professional ethics, which require them to protect their research subjects. This article explores the anthropologists’ critique and its limitations, arguing that it fails to tackle the problem of ethics deployed as a supposedly extra-political standard that can serve to (de)legitimize political projects. In particular, it is unable to dislodge the fantasy of protection at the heart of the argument for HTS

Argument (complex analysis · Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Fantasy · Mainstream · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrain · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Engineering · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access