Description
This paper investigates the colonial continuities of discourses around contemporary counterinsurgency measures in the Middle East. I compare the representation of ‘police bombing’ practices in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan during the 1920s and 1930s to contemporary representations of drone warfare in the same regions. The paper is based on an empirical analysis of British parliamentary debates as well as newspaper coverage, comparing representations in the past with contemporary discourses. I analyse differences in the framing of aerial violence while also highlighting some continuities in what is (not) discussed and the unspoken assumptions these debates rely on.
