New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War

New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners to investigate ethical dilemmas posed by contemporary political developments and changes in military technology. The main idea behind this initiative is that although technological innovations and political developments are changing how modern wars are conducted, efforts to align the legal and ethical frameworks that guide states’ behavior before, during, and after war have not evolved accordingly.

Read more about the background of this initiative

The New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War project has three main goals:

• To advance a new theoretical framework on the linkages among jus ad bellum (rules governing when to go to war), jus in bello (rules governing behavior in combat), and jus post bellum (rules governing appropriate actions after war) in current wars;
• To broaden our collective understanding of the impact of new and future technology developments on the causes and conduct of war; and
• To expand the debate about just war beyond a state-centric perspective to understand how other groups, including insurgency movements, civil society movements, and international organizations, engage with normative questions of warfare.

Main findings

Watch Paul Wise discuss his research on the indirect human costs of conflict, including on the health system

Watch Tanisha Fazal discuss her research on rebel groups and the laws of armed conflict