Anthropology and the military
Africom, ‘culture’ and future of Human Terrain Analysis (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9316640 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Albro (American University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 22-24 |
| Publication date | 2010-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropology Today (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0268-540X • E-ISSN: 1467-8322 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-8322.2010.00712.x |
| OpenAlex | W4240653787 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 6 |
This article updates new developments in the evolution of the US Army's controversial Human Terrain System program (HTS). Building upon the recent report on the HTS program by the American Anthropological Association's Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the Security and Intelligence Communities, this article discusses how HTS‐type arrangements are becoming part of the US Department of Defense's (DoD's) newest Combatant Command for the continent of Africa, or AFRICOM. Of particular note is the way “human terrain” no longer refers simply to the HTS program, but has acquired expanded reference to describe a broader array of approaches to the leveraging of socio‐cultural knowledge within DoD. Most notably for AFRICOM, this includes moving beyond rapid assessment ethnography to incorporate cultural data into the predictive work of cultural modelling, as this informs the implementation both of counterinsurgency doctrine as well as military humanitarianism in Africa and elsewhere. This article explores the ethical, practical and cultural implications of such a turn
Combatant · Commission · Doctrine · Ethnography · Interoperability · Militarization · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrain · Anthropology · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Computer Science · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security
Between History and Coincidence
Ethnography in Late Industrialism
Ethnography Is, Ethnography Ain’t
Dying Worlds
Feeling Historical
From Village to Precarious Anthropology
Kinship by Other Means
Selling out for sustainability? Neoliberal governance, agency and professional careers in the sustainable palm oil sector
Writing Culture Doctrine
Decentring the intervention experts
Making local knowledge
Engaging the ‘ungoverned’
Critical methods in International Relations
| Citations per year | 0.81 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2010 - 2025 (16) |
| Highly cited | No |