Description
This paper will open by presenting the results of our thematic analyses of papers on military medical ethics published since 9/11. It will cover the Euro-Atlantic perspective that is dominated by commentary on the practice of military health practitioners during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as reflected in English language papers. This perspective will be contrasted with a wider global view based on a similar analysis of publications in other languages and from other countries that have different military experiences. This will show how themes in military medical ethics are not necessarily universal and are influenced by military experience, language, and culture. We will then consider the emerging narratives on the changing character of war driven by new technologies (e.g. autonomous weapons, hypersonic missiles, cyber, cognitive warfare) and new domains (space and information/cyber). These two topics will be fused to consider if the nature of military medical ethics needs to fundamentally change to adapt the themes of the last 20 years to the potential reality of conflict in the new era of state-based competition and confrontation. The paper will close by examining the health implications of current developments in the conduct of confrontation and warfare (e.g. the direct targeting of healthcare facilities, the use of migrants as to destabilise security, vaccine disinformation to erode social cohesion). This will question the nature of ’dual loyalty’ for military health practitioners in understanding the role of military and medical ethics as influences on the choice of instruments of war to maintain the principles of ‘jus in bello’.| Period | 16 Jun 2022 |
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| Event title | 11th ICMM Workshop on Military Medical Ethics |
| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Spiez, SwitzerlandShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |