27 March 2019

From 28 February to 1 March, the Remote Warfare Programme held a two day conference entitled ‘Conceptualising Remote Warfare: The Past, Present and Future’. Sponsored by the British International Studies Association, the conference brought together a wide range of experts from the military, academia, civil society and parliament and explored the many aspects of remote warfare. 

This panel examines the oversight and accountability of remote warfare.


Track 1

Introduction

Abigail Watson, Megan Karlshoej-Pedersen and Emily Knowles 



Track 2

Remote Warfare the Hollowing-Out of the UK Parliament

Aditi Gupta, APPG on Drones



Track 3

Death by Data: Big data, remote warfare and the struggle for accountability

Jennifer Gibson, Reprieve



Track 4

Britain’s Shadow Army: Policy Options for External Oversight over UK Special Forces

Liam Walpole and Megan Karlshoej-Pedersen, Oxford Research Group



Track 5

Regime Type and Remote Warfare: A Principal Analysis of International War

Yvonni Efstathiou, IISS

View slides

Image credit: US Army/Wikimedia Commons. 

About the speakers

Aditi Gupta is Coordinator, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones. 

Jennifer Gibson is Head of Assassinations Project, Reprieve. She works closely with civilian victims of covert US drone strikes, investigating their cases and trying to help them get accountability, whether through the courts of law or the courts of public opinion. She has testified about her work before both the British Parliament, the European Parliament and the US Congress. 

Liam Walpole has been Senior Advocacy Officer at Remote Warfare Programme since July 2017. Previously, Liam worked for two Conservative Members of Parliament at the House of Commons, supporting them in carrying out their duties in Parliament and their respective constituencies. Liam has an undergraduate degree in Politics and History from Brunel University and a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy from City, University of London.

Megan Karlshoej-Pedersen is a Research and Policy Assistant at ORG’s Remote Warfare Programme. She supports the team’s research on changes in military engagement, as well as their work with Parliament and policy-makers. Her research interests include international security, armed groups, and sub-national conflict analysis.

Yvonni Efstathiou is the Programme Coordinator and Research Analyst for Defence and Military Analysis at IISS. She supports the organisation and execution of the department’s internal and external activities, and liaises with international partners and contributors to gather defence data. Yvonni contributes to the collection and validation of defence and military data for The Military Balance and the Military Balance+ database. She also writes for the Military Balance Blog.