“The war phone”: mobile communication on the frontline in Eastern Ukraine

Abstract

One of the problems in the growing subfield of mediatization of war is evidence on how exactly civilian communication devices become integrated with warfare. In this article, I focus on patterns of use of mobile phones on the frontline in Eastern Ukraine. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews with Ukrainian servicemen and women, this article presents a typology for the frontline use of mobiles in the spirit of actor–network theory. The omnipresence of mobiles on the battlefield creates a set of unique participatory media practices. A variety of personal purposes, such as private communication and entertainment, are combined in the same device with wiretapping, fire targeting, minefield mapping and combat communication. Mobiles supplant old or unavailable equipment and fill gaps in military infrastructure, becoming weaponized and contributing to the hybridization of the military and the intimate, and of war and peace. These results imply the role of mobiles as a mediated extension of battlefield and question the very definition of what constitutes weapon as tool of combat.

Цифрова Трансформація Національної Економіки України: Виклики Та Можливості

“…The rebuilding of critical facilities, such as communication infrastructure, remains important. The case of Sloviansk demonstrates this, where a public-private partnership focusing on IT infrastructure development, including optical fiber deployment and increased 4G coverage, has attracted digital businesses and remote workers, showcasing the long-term impact of infrastructure repair on digital well-being and economic growth (Mezentsev and Mezentsev, 2022;Horbyk, 2022).…”

Covid-19 contact-tracing apps and the public/private co-production of security

“…The smartphone is a prominent example of an appropriated security device. By connecting closely with the human body, and arguably extending it (Mazmanian, 2019; Park and Kaye, 2018), the smartphone allows uniquely intrusive, intense and ubiquitous surveillance, and is thus a vehicle for the state to secure against external and internal threats (Chambers, 2016; see also Bauman et al, 2014: 123; Ford and Hoskins, 2022; Harcourt, 2015: 10–11, 23; Horbyk, 2022; Lyon, 2015: 76–77). From the perspective of security theory that understands surveillance technology as a means of legitimizing and normalizing illiberal security practices (see Bigo and Tsoukala, 2008; Huysmans, 2014: 22), the smartphone can be seen to co-produce security by offering new ways for the state to manage its population.…”

Russo-Ukrainian War and Trust or Mistrust in Information: A Snapshot of Individuals’ Perceptions in Greece

“…Individuals are inundated with information about the Russo-Ukrainian war. It has been argued that the Russo-Ukrainian war is the war of smartphones, highlighting the importance of people having easy access to information and news (Stastna 2022), but also the role of the soldier as a war correspondent (Horbyk 2022). Individuals on the ground in the defending nation can share real-time reports from the front line.…”

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