Anthropologist on war – the dilemma of ethical engagement of social sciences

Abstract

Since 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense have begun employing social scientists in combat brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. Army and CIA officially decided to mobilize anthropologists to the project of the Human Terrain System for the counterinsurgency war. This decision provoked enormous critique of the project within the anthropological community. The intense discussion about turning anthropology into a military tool also provoked wider public debate about ethics and current role of anthropology. Moreover, the uknown history of anthropology and the role of anthropologists during the past wars has been reveled by these discussions.

In this paper, I refer to the discussion connected to the anthropologists’ engagement in recent and past wars. The growing interest in history of anthropology shows that more than half of American anthropologists were using their professional skills to advance the war effort during the World War II. I give examples of such involvements, relevant to both World Wars, as well as to the Cold War. I show the ways in which anthropologists were used in military and intelligence operations. I consider how the engagement in those wars changed anthropology itself and its Code of Ethics. I point out ethical and practical implications of engagement, especially for the field relations.

Keeping in mind those historical examples of social scientists’ involvment in wars, I firmly state that any application of anthropology in war activities could lead to serious danger for anthropologists and for the discipline itself.