Bill Durodie
I am Professor and Chair of International Relations at the University of Bath. My research interests centre around risk, resilience, radicalisation and the politics of fear.
Location Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies at the University of Bath
Activity
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Bill Durodie replied to Selene L.
Problem is ... only the powerful are in any position to enforce (and indeed it is mostly their 'human' rights laws that they pursue. So back to might is right?
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Bill Durodie replied to Selene L.
What is International Law? Who drafts it and who enforces it?
More importantly perhaps, who is it accountable to? -
On knowing ourselves and the meaning of intelligence:
http://archive.battleofideas.org.uk/documents/Terrorism.pdf -
Some of you may find the following of use/interest:
http://www.durodie.net/pdf/WhatCanScienceContribute.pdf -
Bill Durodie replied to Matt Scott
Jack and Paul, I rather tend to your side of the debate.
But, as I said, my key point here is about willingness to tolerate extreme violence, rather than its legitimacy in the first place. -
Bill Durodie replied to Jo W
@PaulMorley Skepticism may be a better term than cynicism?
The former suggests an open disposition to change, while the latter points to disbelief in any source of information or authority. -
Great question Jack.
Maybe it is to do with culture rather than technology? As is often noted: 'Guns don't kill people. People do'. Guns have been a feature of US life from independence. They reflected an unwillingness to trust the state having a monopoly on violence. But mass school shootings, aside from a handful of incidents going back over a hundred... -
@RobertCollins 'We like our mobile phones' ... but a decade ago one of the dominant narratives that these might damage our health, and even now people fret endlessly over excessive use.
'We are getting fatter by the day' ... rather confirms my point maybe. In fact, aside from a limited rise due to more sedentary lifestyles, there is little evidence for an... -
It is not always possible to fully flesh out such short videos so thanks for asking. There are numerous newspaper articles from that time indicating how some of the families of those in Afghanistan and Iraq did not go along with the stated purpose of those missions. They supported their loved ones, of course, but they also queried whether these had been...
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Bill Durodie replied to Matt Scott
The debate over 'should they v shouldn't they have' is interminable. I guess it depends on whose perspective you adopt. The point I was driving at however, is that when countries are clear as to their mission (however erroneous some may consider these to be) then they are able and willing to tolerate the most barbaric of acts with little soul searching. It...
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Bill Durodie replied to Jo W
One of Cunliffe's points in his book on UN peacekeepers is that some countries contribute to these missions in order to be perceived of as being responsible global citizens by those Western economies they remain largely beholden to and dependent on.
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Nuremburg was not quite what most of us imagine either Hay Chan. Read Kirsten Sellars 'The Rise and Rise of Human Rights', Chapter 2, for instance.
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You may be right regarding neo liberal exploitation of the situation Alison. The problem is, many people get fixated on that while missing the underlying moral and cultural drivers.
As for well informed minorities ... sounds a bit like saying your all in favour of democracy, but ...
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Generic to the contemporary period Martin.
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/10/24/us-troops-in-iraq-have-limited-body-armor.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/defective-military-equipment-is-a-breach-of-human-rights-808142.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6676765/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/bush-soldiers-equipmentgripes-heard/#.VtNSFNLctdg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/... -
How long did the support last? I taught senior officers at Shrivenham over this period ...
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Why assume public opinion would go against you if you lose personnel Claudia? Surely the key is to win the public over to your view in the first place ... ?
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'[N]ot that useful when the other side is deliberately trying to hide something'?
Or when yours (whatever that means Martin) does not know what it wants, or why, of how to make sense of what it does have ...
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Have you looked into why people join in the US Gavin?
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Just politics would be a start Michael.
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Thanks Cecilia. I think you are right to go back to the mid-80s. It is almost as if the end of the Cold War really started then - at least politically. And then, by 1989, all else followed.
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Thanks Malcolm and Michael. The point I was trying to raise is that, ultimate accountability in a democracy derives from the people. They are held to hold the politicians who send our service personnel into action to account. And it is through the democratic mandate that proper procedures and regulations have emerged and been put into operation. But what...
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Interesting points about proximity Roos. Of course, if you believe passionately in your mission then you may be less affected by its content. Studies of trauma from the Vietnam War suggest that front-line troops were the least impacted psychologically. They knew exactly what they were doing and at the very least their mission was clear - to stay alive. Trauma...
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Are the NGOs used? Or are they willing suppliers Ron?
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What was the mission then Gavin?
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Bill Durodie made a comment
There are a number of you raising the issue of trust here. You may care to listen to the 2002 BBC Reith Lectures by Onora O'Neill in that regards:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2002/
Also, as I pointed out to some in Week 1, trust can be viewed as the individuated or psychologised version of authority. Invariably a crisis of authority would manifest...
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Bill Durodie replied to ben f
I suspect that data retention by business is more to do with predicting behaviour based on past choices (in pursuit of profits) - not, altering your opinions with a view to re-shaping behaviour and society.
The latter used to be known as politics and is sadly absent from much of the discussion today. It used to be understood that what you could be is not...
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These are starting points for discussion Peter, not the last word. Maybe you could initiate something here?
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Bill Durodie replied to Sylvia M
Thanks for this Silvia.
My thoughts on the invasion of neuroscience into every aspect of our lives are briefly presented here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gTU1C2WEL0
You may also enjoy:
which tackles contemporary obsessions that all of what we do is pre-determined by our biology more broadly.
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Bill Durodie replied to Roos H
Great point about opinions changing Roos.
Much 'intelligence' gathering nowadays appears predicated on people having fixed views. Surely the point is to change these, rather than intercept, assume and react?
Lacking the vision to lead all the authorities are left with is to respond.
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I'm not sure anyone operates at the 'macro scale of global empathy' Silvia, which may be more a form of virtue signalling (what used to be called 'holier than thou').
Maybe we should not pay too much attention to 'pundits ... talking up apocalyptic scenarios' either. Weather records are easy to break. It just takes one variable - rainfall, temperature, wind...
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Bill Durodie replied to Sylvia M
Well meaning as that may be Silvia, reasons 'other than domination and exploitation' can sometimes be even worse. Protection and development sound nice but they readily become excuses for a new form of colonialism, as can a focus on values, such as environmental protection, that seeks to colonise minds.
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Content is King, Michael.
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I respect your distinction between analysis and management, Conrad. In reality though, it is almost impossible for the scientists to be insulated from the social discourse and cultural mood (without even having to consider dodgy dossiers). Risk identification and prioritisation is already a political process. Confusing science with politics makes for bad...
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Agreed. Language itself is dual-use Thomas! I find such distinctions entirely unhelpful.
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Bill Durodie replied to Seamus Egan
Suspicion alone is no solution Seamus!
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I like your positive spirit Michael. There are indeed more opportunities to work out what is really going on today - if, we are willing to do so. What's more, the sheer cacophony of confusion beyond makes the few who do try stand out like beacons in an ocean of darkness.
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Bill Durodie replied to Russell Morgan
A democracy that increasing numbers disengage from and that restricts our freedoms daily has problems of its own to address first. I happen to agree that these things matter, unlike your presumptions about me it would seem.
But freedom and democracy need to be fought for at home in each generation. The failure of the authorities to inspire and engage their...
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
I was simply suggesting that rules are not fixed and are open to review Peter.
I'm sorry you believe I am 'cherry picking' from your responses. Others may sense you have done as much from the start and that you have a fixed view of the way things are.
I guess there are limits to such exchanges. Rest assured this is my last with you. I have only ever...
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Bill Durodie replied to Russell Morgan
What is 'our way of life' Peter?
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Bill Durodie replied to Ron Brown
The ICC has many lawyers Ron. It has also only ever indicted individuals from sub-Saharan Africa. When it comes to International Law it is still a case of might is right. After all, who holds International Law to account, and who do we charge with enforcing it? These things can only be clear at a national level where it is the electorate to whom the...
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There may be a 'rapid development of technology' today Kostas - but it may also be of a different quality and serve a different purpose to that in the past.
For instance, when the original CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, passed away, I recall a very insightful obituary asking the question as to how much more he might have achieved in a more ambitious age.
Jobs...
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Thanks Glen. The media may need to sell news - but it was ever thus. The difference today is that in the past we did not just get our views from the media. Rather we obtained these from the political parties we were members of, the trade unions we belonged to, the congregations we attended, the teams we played in, our families and friends.
To a...
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Bill Durodie replied to John Webber
What do you mean by 'the developments that brought it about', John? Are you thinking of the actions of our presumed enemies? Or, are you reflecting on the confusion over purpose here in the West, which was brought up in my video, as evidenced in our 'culture of fear'?
If we lack confidence, or dispute who we are and where we are going, then presumably, we...
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Thank you Dirk. It's not so much the security agencies 'agenda' we should question, which in-the-main we can recognise to be well-meaning, as their analysis.
It is the interpretation of information that causes more problems. People look for meaning, not just evidence.
This is also the difference between being critical and cynical (not believing what...
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
What are the origins of rules Peter? Reality is not simply its appearance.
(And, btw, your grammar is frequently 'no complying' ;-) ).
Strategic thinking is collective Gary - and not the subject of this MOOC.
(I'm also here to encourage people to think for themselves).
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And what 'level of security' is that Peter?
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Bill Durodie replied to Joe Bloggs
There are faster ways of killing more people Peter. The damage mostly comes from promoting dread. And not understanding probability. ;-)
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I guess I believe that understanding the causes of conflict may help us more than just dealing with conflict itself Peter. Undoubtedly those causes are contested, as these exchanges demonstrate.
That alone should suggest an urgent need to cohere our argument here first and to gain support for this, before we presume and rush off to address the supposed...
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Fluck
No, you weren't a barbarian Peter. Those who may have had to deploy you might have had to condone barbaric acts. The point I make in the video is that societies that are clear as to their objectives can achieve this more easily than those that are not.
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
Thanks Peter. Of course, nobody wants to sit next to one of these individuals on a bus when they are about to blow things up. Of course, we need good intelligence and security to deal with that. But these are tactical considerations, not strategies. Nor should a strategy refer to them at all.
Real strategic thinking implies knowing who you are, what you...
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To safeguard their empires. And no.
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
Not for me to impose a Durodien vision Gary, assuming I could.
"Let's do something important together".
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Was it the US military that made the US great, or was its values Gary? Why is 'the land of the free' trying to turn itself into 'the land of the secure'? What does that tell us about the US today?
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
Nice to see you two becoming friends here!
Gary, you hit the nail on the head: 'The West is rife with self-loathing'.
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
http://www.durodie.net/images/uploads/SMA_CT_White_Paper.pdf
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Bill Durodie replied to Ron Brown
Thanks Ron. And peace to you too. The only point I would raise here is that debating whether the invasion of Iraq was legal or not has been an amazing distraction from the more fundamental question as to whether it was moral. Deferring to lawyers may not be the best way to engage our own agency.
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Fluck
Thanks Peter. Not sure where you got the idea that I, personally, am disenchanted with science. The point I was trying to make was that others became so. And, for the record, my first degree was in Physics from Imperial College.
As for my barbarism point, which seems to have got a few people here hot under the collar, I will leave it for others here to...
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Thanks Malcolm. Fair comment regarding how people consume certain, mostly IT related, technologies. At the same time though there are heightened concerns expressed about GM and other developments. Hence the advent of the so-called precautionary principle, which now acts as a barrier to science and innovation.
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Seems a bit short term to me Peter - 'we fight because you kill us'. Certainly, they do perpetrate acts of mindless mayhem. Cataloguing these does not take us very far. Rather trying to understand why they do so correctly is the pre-requisite to addressing the situation in a way that does not simply create more confusion. Many say Islam. Most evidence suggests...
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
Thanks Gary and Peter. Obviously, you are entitled to your own opinions. You should not assume mine.
I do not imply that terrorists are naïve or that fighting terrorism is 'barbaric and illegal'. Fighting though is simply a means to an end, not the end in itself.
What I do suggest is that governments have lost sight of their broader purpose beyond...
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Bill Durodie replied to Ron Brown
Thanks again Ron. Of course, to be in a position to debate and alter the trajectory of the 'Pandora's Boxes' you catalogue we need to be engaged and have a purpose of our own. The danger in listing all the nasty things that have happened in history is that it can have the opposite effect. People disengage as they become suspicious and cynical.
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Bill Durodie replied to Les Jones
Yes and no Les. I agree about the probable mish mash of drivers, though I'm equally sure there was a clearer sense of national and strategic interests then that is largely lacking today to the point of denial.
At the same time authors such as Malik have noted how contemporary society, despite its claims, is in many ways less diverse than in the past. New...
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Thanks Ulvi. Of course, the point is not to avoid being clear as to our aims and objectives either (in order to preclude the potential for barbarism), but rather to debate these openly and robustly, which used to be called politics.
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Don't presume where my moral compass points to Peter.
Of course, governments don't attack terrorists 'for the fun'. But they seem to have given up trying to understand what causes them to act as they do in the first place. And that is losing sight of why we fight, because most people would not say we do so in order that our children can grow up to do so too.
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Err... quite a few Peter:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4018797.stm
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-05/fijian-peacekeepers-iraq-arent-just-battalion-theyre-choir
http://nautilus.org/apsnet/0611a-maclellan-html/I could go on but you get the picture.
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Bill Durodie replied to Peter Tal
Thanks Peter. Your points regarding the cost-benefit analysis of nuking Japan have a long pedigree (among the proponents of doing so obviously). They are somewhat contradicted by the evidence that the US knew full-well that Japan was about to surrender subsequent to months of conventional bombardment.
It then became more important to strike the first blow...
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Bill Durodie replied to Ron Brown
Thanks Ron. Of course, statements can be 'dual-use', just as much as technology can.
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... to illustrate the point made in that video regarding how it is almost entirely troops from the Global South that are now engaged in operations assuring the existential security of the West.
It's also an excellent read that examines how that came about and why it suits all the parties involved.
Thanks for the question Karen.
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You might enjoy a comment piece I had published on related matters here Alexander:
http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-high-tech-depends-on-us-1.877287
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WW1 certainly did change things Michael. A sense of unbridled optimism was certainly brought crashing back down to Earth. Rightly, some may say. But the floodgates to pessimism did not open then. They were held in check through the necessities of power and the Cold War. It is the end of the latter - in my view - that still needs to be appreciated better in...
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Bill Durodie replied to James M Wilson
Try not to skip too far ahead James - not least because others won't be engaging with your points otherwise. A trade-off? No. In my view, real security only comes from understanding the significance of - and accordingly protecting - our privacy. And that, in its turn, does not exist in isolation, but in a balance that promotes a healthy public discourse too....
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Bill Durodie replied to Ian Spencer
I have now Ian. At least as relates to my video. But I won't be doing it every day.
;-)
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Of course, what saves lives today Antonio, may cost them tomorrow if we lose sight of why we fight, as well as our willingness to do so for certain principles. So a moral dimension is at least as important as a technological one. And when was the last time you heard - and engaged in - a debate about the principles rather than about the technology?
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Bill Durodie replied to Joe Bloggs
Thanks Russell. I agree. The step the scientists missed though, in the report I cited, was to remind the public 'that the risk of attack by these [was] very low'! You'd think they might start there unless the forces that drove them were somewhat different to achieving a proportionate perspective on these matters.
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Bill Durodie replied to Ian Spencer
Thanks Ian. Of course, it may not be so much 'where do we get the information' as 'how do we interpret the evidence we do have'? Real intelligence - in both of its common meanings in relation to people as well as to security - relies on both of these aspects. Hidden information also lends itself to a conspiratorial mind-set, which rarely helps, as well as a...
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I agree with much of this Heather, except I would shift the emphasis a little. It may not be so much that 'Technology IS converting us' as you suggest, as the fact that we already sense ourselves as being isolated and insecure encouraging the development and application of particular types of technology. If so, then it is our social atomisation and alienation...
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Thank you for this Jacqueline. I guess the questions you really have to ask yourself are; when did things change, and why? I rather assume that ruling elites have always prioritised themselves over their publics. But, in that regards, this also implied a sense of priority - or purpose - which appears less evident today. Publics did not need to trust their...
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I suspect 'no win no fee' is the symptom of a problem rather than its cause.
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Bill Durodie replied to Tom Kavanagh
Look at electoral turnouts across the century for most countries. Or membership of trade unions and political parties. There is also a great essay that touches on some of the consequences of this that is available online; Consuming Democracy by Furedi.
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Bill Durodie replied to Tom Kavanagh
The challenge with law, as you note Tom, is that it is effectively the formalisation of the informal will of the people. But what does that mean in an age when the people have self disenfranchised themselves from the decision-making process? The political majority are a social minority today. Worse, the politically engaged went down the legal route (at least...
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Agreed Simon. I would prioritise the political crisis of legitimacy. This is what Clausewitz would have described as the 'friction' of war i.e. the need to win the argument at home prior to heading off overseas. We might also suggest, of course, that Hilary Clinton and William Hague both making it clear that President Assad had no future, was a form of...
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How does one corroborate 'evidence' from a single value framework Ian?
Regarding the latter point, I view the rise of families now willing to sue the MOD as reflecting such confusions.
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Bill Durodie replied to Liz Court
Whether you are a vegetarian or a humanitarian - ultimately what matters is an act, not a connection.
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Bill Durodie replied to Tom Kavanagh
What is legal may still not be moral Tom - at least in the eyes of some. Would UN backing have made recent wars acceptable?
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Of course, nominally, the government are held to account by our representatives ...
The Christmas and child safety debacles speak more of their crisis of confidence than any external push by non-Christians or parents. So why the melt down?
Best reads on this I have come across include 'Therapy Culture' by Furedi, and - most recently - That's Racist! - by...
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False framing and a lack of common purpose strike me as having some relevance Andrew.
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Hello Nell. The Sageman piece was included to highlight the dangers of interpretative confusion when each side only has access to part of the picture.
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Bill Durodie replied to Tom Kavanagh
Do the means to achieving the end matter?
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Technology may act as an amplifier of some of the trends you describe Alistair, but I am not sure it is necessarily the driver. The Arab Spring may have been driven more by word of mouth on the street than the social media so beloved by our own media.
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Great points on contemporary fears of abuse and/or causing offence Jacqueline. In response to your first point; what is it that 'expects' us to do all these things?
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Bill Durodie replied to Paul Kendall
It might not be so much about avoidance Paul as about accountability. A disengaged demos is not good for ensuring strategic purpose either.
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Cheerful stuff Linda. Who needs enemies with friends like these? ;-) Might not some of the fears you project be exaggerated too? Sure, we create problems, but we create solutions as well. People do not just consume, they also produce. More people might mean more problem-solvers.
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Bill Durodie replied to Liz Court
I agree that it is difficult to compare situations from different epochs Liz. But is being better networked today the same as being more actively engaged? Some things cannot be changed using social media alone.
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Good point on dual-use technology Elena. Presumably language itself is dual-use too? I would question whether technology is advancing any faster today than previously though. Maybe we perceive it that way but that just begs the question why it appears so?
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I actually agree with your second point Marcus. It is important to mediate this point well. I doubt there is any conspiracy to propagate fear today as there may have been in the past, and as Kevin notes. But contemporary culture does encourage directionless politicians to appeal to a sense of fear that they will then manage (thereby providing them with a...
