Tom’s lecture will be delivered at the School of Area Studies, History, Politics and Literature at the University of Portsmouth at 5pm on 7 December 2022

The study of remote warfare has grown significantly in recent years, particularly in British academic and think-tank circles. 2023 marks ten years since the publication of Security by Remote Control, an article written by Professor Paul Rogers in RUSI Journal. By highlighting the United States’ “increasing use of special forces, private military and security companies and remote systems at the expense of the engagement of large forces” this article, coupled with the Remote Control - Examining Changes in Military Engagement project began in the same year, helped propel the debates in this area. The tenth anniversary of this article invites us to take stock of the past, present, and future of remote warfare scholarship. Tom’s lecture, to be delivered at the School of Area Studies, History, Politics and Literature at the University of Portsmouth at 5pm on 7 December 2022, is structured around exploring three questions: (1) what is remote warfare, and is it a buzzword? (2) what role has remote warfare played in American counterterrorism policy since 9/11? and (3) what implications does Washington’s recent (re)prioritisation of great power competition have for the practices and study of remote warfare?

Dr. Tom Watts is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow based at Royal Holloway, University of London. His new Leverhulme funded research project examines the relationship between great power competition, remote warfare, and the processes of change and continuity in American foreign policy. Until October 2022, Tom worked as a researcher on the ERC funded AUTONORMS project based at the University of Southern Denmark examining the weaponization of AI. You can find out more about his research here.