Beware: Your Research May Be Weaponized

Sara Koopman

Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2016, vol. 106, issue 3, 530-535

Abstract: Geography, although long used for war, offers powerful tools for making peace. Yet in a context of pervasive surveillance and high military interest in geography, it is important to be cautious that research is not misused or even weaponized (used by armed actors to do harm). This possibility should be more explicitly discussed in methods classes, committees, and ethics reviews. It is heartening that there is a growing commitment in geography to doing work for peace and justice, but given current levels of both military and police surveillance, we could all use more tools and guidance for how to do such work ethically. These conversations are currently rare. Geography methods textbooks say surprisingly little on the misuse of research more generally and nothing about armed actors in particular. We could also offer each other tips on how to look for and track the use of our research by the military and share more stories of what we have found. The potential of weaponization should not scare us off from peace and justice research but rather inspire us to do that work more carefully, which includes having more sophisticated conversations about potential misuse. Not only do we need to be wary of, teach, and speak out against the growing military use of geography, but I also urge us to work for a growing but careful use of the tools and insights of geography in struggles for peace and justice.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2016.1145511

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