A conceptual critique of remote warfare

Revisiting the remoteness of remote warfare: US military intervention in Libya during Obama’s presidency

“…The concept's growing popularity would seem to promise something distinct. Yet, as has been pointed out (McDonald 2021;Rauta, 2021), its contribution to the study of political violence remains somewhat unclear. We have called for researchers to further develop the study of remote warfare's constitutive remoteness as a potential pathway for addressing this ambiguity.…”

“…Its contributions to the study of contemporary political violence remain contested, however. Both the clarity and coherence of the notion have been questioned, with some arguing that it has generated more heat than light (Rauta, 2021). This paper aims to develop the study of remote warfare's constitutive remoteness.…”

“…The introduction of new concepts can "drive reconsideration of pre-existing assumptions and spur interest in unexpected challenges" (Ucko and Marks 2018, 212). As Rauta argues however, remote warfare scholarship has largely failed to demonstrate which "pre-existing assumptions" about contemporary political violence are faulty (Rauta, 2021) . In this way, the analytical value of the concept has been taken as somewhat apriori.…”