Thomas Gregory

The University of Auckland, Politics and International Relations, Faculty Member

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Tom received his doctorate from the University of Manchester in 2012 and holds an MSc Econ (Distinction) in International Politics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and a BA Hons (First Class) in Politics from the University of Sheffield. Before joining the University of Auckland, he was Lecturer in Social and Political Change at Oxford Brookes. His doctoral research, which was supervised by Maja Zehfuss and Cristina Masters, focused on the representation of Afghan women in the justifications for Operation Enduring Freedom.

Research Interests

Tom is currently working on three projects that all relate to contemporary conflict, political violence and the ethics of war. The first of these is a Marsden funded project on civilian casualties, non-combatant immunity and the politics of killing, which explores how civilian casualties are conceptualised within contemporary military doctrine and its effects. In particular, he is interested in how the increasingly blurred boundary between combatants and non-combatants has allowed states to justify, normalise or excuse violence against civilian targets. His second project considers the political, ethical and legal issues connected to the emergence of remotely piloted drones, paying particular attention to the way in which the embodied effects of drone warfare have been rendered invisible within the debate about targeted killing. His final project seeks to foreground the human body at war, including the wounded bodies of those targeted on the battlefield and the emotional experiences of those touched by contemporary conflict.

Key Publications:

‘Dismembering the Dead: Violence, Vulnerability and the Body in War’, European Journal of International Relations (Online First).

‘Drones, Targeted Killings and the Limitations of International Law’, International Political Sociology 9(3): 197-212.

‘Potential Lives, Impossible Deaths: Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties and the Politics of Intelligibility’, International Feminist Journal of Politics 14(3): 327-347.
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 83725
Address: Thomas Gregory
Lecturer in Politics and International Relations
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019,
Victoria Street West
Auckland
1142
New Zealand

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Radhika Desai

University of Manitoba

Brett Holman

University of Canberra

Mark Deuze

University of Amsterdam

Katherine Butler Schofield

King's College London

Andrea Peto

Central European University

Emek Ergun

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Oliver P Richmond

The University of Manchester

Marc Champagne

Kwantlen Polytechnic University

David Seamon

Kansas State University

Remo Caponi

University of Cologne

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Papers by Thomas Gregory

Dangerous feelings: Checkpoints and the perception of hostile intent

Security Dialogue, 2019

Between 2006 and 2007 an average of one Iraqi civilian was killed or injured at a coalition check... more Between 2006 and 2007 an average of one Iraqi civilian was killed or injured at a coalition checkpoint each day. In many cases, civilians were shot because soldiers had misinterpreted their behaviour as hostile or as a demonstration of hostile intent. In other words, the soldiers responsible thought that they were acting in self-defence against an imminent threat. Some analysts have argued that these killings can be explained by ambiguities in the rules of engagement, but such explanations wrongly assume that the decision to kill is a purely rational calculation. Drawing upon the work of Sara Ahmed, William Connolly and George Yancy, I will argue that the interpretation of hostile intent and the decision to use lethal force are affective judgements rather than purely conscious decisions and, as such, are shaped by feelings, moods and intuitions. Moreover, I will argue that these judgements are never entirely neutral but clouded by a set of pre-existing assumptions that mark certain bodies as dangerous before they even have a chance to act. Drawing upon an archive of incident reports filed in the aftermath of these shootings and interviews with former soldiers, this article will show how seemingly innocuous behaviours were so readily mistaken for hostile acts with decidedly deadly consequences for the local population.

The costs of war: Condolence payments and the politics of killing civilians

Review of International Studies, 2020

Coalition forces have spent upwards of $50 million on condolence payments to Afghan and Iraqi civ... more Coalition forces have spent upwards of $50 million on condolence payments to Afghan and Iraqi civilians. These condolence payments were intended as an expression of sympathy rather than an admission of fault, and the programme itself has been criticised for the arbitrary, inconsistent, and low valuation of civilian lives. Rather than focus on the practical problems associated with condolence payments or normative arguments about whether belligerents ought to compensate those harmed, this article will trace the strategic imperatives that underpinned this programme and shaped its development. As coalition forces began to recognise the strategic costs of civilian casualties, they used a variety of tactics to mitigate the effects of civilian casualties on the success of military operations. This article will argue that condolence payments should not be seen as a humanitarian gesture designed to recognise and respond to the suffering of ordinary civilians, but will argue that condolence payments should be viewed as a weapons system aimed at securing specific military goals. As such, this article will argue that condolence payments continued to objectify and devalue the lives of Afghans and Iraqis by treating them as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves.

Silent shields: international humanitarian law at the limits of audibility

International Politics Reviews, 2022

In my contribution to this forum, I want to focus on the silencing of human shields within the pr... more In my contribution to this forum, I want to focus on the silencing of human shields within the prevailing frames of war/law. Focusing on the destruction of al-Jalaa tower by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), I argue that Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire enables us to see how the figure of the human shield was invoked to legitimize this violence whilst denying the victims a voice within debates about the harm inflicted upon them. Although the book enables us to trace how the discourse on human shielding works to dehumanize and depoliticize the victims, I encourage the authors to think about the silences and omissions in their own work and to think about what could be done to contest these silences. I draw on the work of Gayatri Spivak, Jacques Rancière, and Banu Bargu to illustrate my concerns about the problem and potential solutions to this problem.

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Calibrating violence: Body counts as a weapon of war

European Journal of International Security, 2022

This article examines how coalition forces sought to weaponise the counting of civilian casualtie... more This article examines how coalition forces sought to weaponise the counting of civilian casualties in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2014. Drawing on interviews with senior coalition officials, recently declassified documents, and coalition data on civilian harm, it will explain how these figures were used to calibrate the violence inflicted on the Afghan people, ensuring that commanders applied sufficient force to achieve their objectives without causing unnecessary harm to civilians and jeopardising the success of military operations. The article examines the formation of the Civilian Casualty Tracking Cell (CCTC), which was created by General David McKiernan in 2008. It also traces the formation of the Civilian Casualty Mitigation Team (CCMT), which was established by General John Allen in 2011. Furthermore, it explores how this data was deployed by coalition officials to minimise civilian harm where possible and to rationalise this harm where necessary. Rather than simply documenting the death and destruction, these counts were complicit in the violence experienced by Afghan civilians, helping to enable and enhance the effectiveness of military operations. As such, I argue that these counts failed to contest the violence of war or the continued dehumanisation of Afghan civilians.

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The Politics of (not) Counting: Why the War on Terror's Civilian Toll Matters

by Alex Edney-Browne and Thomas Gregory

Lieutenant-General James L. Terry, commander of US forces in Iraq and Syria, recently admitted he... more

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Dismembering the Dead: Violence, Vulnerability and the Body in War

On 15 January 2010, two soldiers killed an unarmed boy in the Afghan village of La Mohammad Kalay... more On 15 January 2010, two soldiers killed an unarmed boy in the Afghan village of La Mohammad Kalay before dismembering his body and posing for photographs with his corpse. Although the soldiers were eventually sentenced to prison for their involvement in this attack and two other incidents, very little has been said about the nature of the violence they inflicted on the bodies of their victims. Drawing on the work of the Italian feminist philosopher Adriana Cavarero, this article will explore the violence inflicted by the so-called Afghan Kill Team, focusing particular attention on the ethical questions posed by a violence that ‘overshoots the elementary goal of taking a life and dedicates itself to destroying the living being as a singular body’ (Cavarero, 2011: 12). I will argue that this level of violence is no longer concerned with questions of life and death, but seeks to destroy the body as body, challenging the ways in which we have traditionally conceptualised the pain and suffering caused by war. This argument will refocus our attention on the constitutive vulnerability of the body, as well as the processes of dehumanisation that leave certain bodies more vulnerable than others.

Drones, Targeted Killings, and the Limitations of International Law

The debate about drones has largely taken place on a legal terrain with various politicians, lawy... more The debate about drones has largely taken place on a legal terrain with various politicians, lawyers, and activists all seeking to establish whether or not targeted killings are legal under the existing framework of international law. In particular, they have raised concerns about the geographical and temporal scope of the “war on terror,” the legal status of those being targeted and whether or not these strikes can be considered discriminate, proportionate, and necessary. The aim of this article is not to settle these legal questions once and for all but to think about the limitations of framing the use of drones as a legal issue rather than an ethical, moral, or political concern. I will argue that the emphasis on international law distracts attention away from the horrors of war by masking the pain and suffering that is caused in favor of technical debates about the application of particular legal codes. Drawing on the work of Judith Butler, Adriana Cavarero, and Elaine Scarry, I will argue that we need to turn our attention back to the embodied experiences of those affected.

Photographing War: Don McCullin, Vietnam and the Politics of Grief

Drones, Targeted Killing and the Limitations of International Law

The debate about drones has largely taken place on a legal terrain as politicians, lawyers and ac... more The debate about drones has largely taken place on a legal terrain as politicians, lawyers and activists all seek to establish whether targeted killings are legal under the existing framework of international law. In particular, they have raised concerns about the geographical and temporal scope of the ‘war on terror’, the legal status of those being targeted and whether or not these strikes can be considered discriminate, proportionate and necessary. The aim of this article is not to settle these legal questions but to think about the limitations of framing the use of drones as a legal issue rather than an ethical, moral or political concern. I will argue that the emphasis on international law distracts attention away from the horrors of war by masking the pain and suffering that is caused in favour of technical debates about the application of particular legal codes. Drawing on the work of Judith Butler, Adriana Cavarero and Elaine Scarry, I will argue that we need to turn our attention back to the embodied experiences of those affected.

Drones: Mapping the Legal Debate

The purpose of this paper is to provide a very preliminary sketch of the legal debates about the ... more The purpose of this paper is to provide a very preliminary sketch of the legal debates about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -otherwise known as drones. I will focus on two main areas of contention: firstly, whether or not the United States is legally at war with those caught in its crosshairs and, secondly, whether or not these individuals qualify as legitimate targets within the dominant frames of war. At the same time, however, I will also consider if this reliance upon international law serves only to normalise the violence that is being inflicted, displacing important ethical and political questions with purely technical concerns about proportionality, discrimination and military necessity. The law, I argue, may be part of the problem, not a solution to it.

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Potential Lives, Impossible Deaths: Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties and the Politics of Intelligibility

The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan has increased dramatically in recent years as th... more The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan has increased dramatically in recent years as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has tried to put down the Taliban insurgency. Reports of civilian casualties are, however, frequently dismissed as being examples of Taliban propaganda or blamed on the actions of enemy fighters, while the tragic loss of civilians is rarely marked or even acknowledged within the dominant frames of war. At first glance, the fact that civilians are so easily expendable appears to be at odds with the humanitarian intentions underpinning the war. However, I argue that the rhetoric of humanitarianism operates to preclude Afghans from appearing as recognizable human beings, foreclosing the possibility that they possess a life worthy of protection. Drawing on the work of Judith Butler, I will trace the ways in which Afghans have been reduced to the status of absolute victims, denied the very essence of their humanity and therefore a publically grievable death. By effectively constructing them as the living-dead, existing in a state of abeyance, Afghans have been exposed to a deathly logic in which their lives are expendable in the quest to make them liveable once again.

Potential Lives, Impossible Deaths: Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties and the Politics of Intelligibility

Incidents of civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased dramatically in recent years as th... more Incidents of civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased dramatically in recent years as the ISAF has continued to resist the Taliban insurgency. Reports of civilian casualties are, however, frequently dismissed as being examples of Taliban propaganda or blamed on the actions of enemy fighters, whilst the tragic singularity of every death is rarely acknowledged or marked within the dominant frames of war. At first glance, the fact that civilians are so easily expendable appears to be at odds with the humanitarian intentions underpinning the war. However, in this paper I want to consider whether the rhetoric of humanitarianism has actually precluded Afghans from being recognised as human, thereby preventing us from acknowledging that they have a life worthy of protection. Drawing on the work of Judith Butler, I will attempt to trace how Afghans have been reduced to the status of absolute victims, denied the very essence of their humanity and therefore a publicly grievable death. By effectively constructing them as the living-dead, existing in a state of abeyance, Afghans have been exposed to a deathly logic in which their lives are expendable in the quest to make them liveable once again.

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(Un)Intelligible Voices: Gender, Subjectivity and Global Politics

This paper will provide a tentative sketch of how the space of global politics is circumscribed b... more This paper will provide a tentative sketch of how the space of global politics is circumscribed by a hegemonic normative framework that delineates who and what we can hear, denying an intelligible voice and effective agency to those who are abandoned by this frame. Drawing on the work of Judith Butler and Gaytri Spivak, I will attempt to formulate a speculative overview of how the horizon of possibility in global politics is continually reproduced through the performative reiteration of these norms. I will draw on Butler's notion of cultural intelligibility and Spivak's critique of the foreclosure of the native informant in order to provide a theoretical lens through which feminists might be able to understand how certain subjects are rendered unintelligible and denied a politically-qualified subject position.

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Books by Thomas Gregory

Emotions, Politics and War

by Linda Åhäll and Thomas Gregory

A growing number of scholars have sought to re-centre emotions in our study of international poli... more A growing number of scholars have sought to re-centre emotions in our study of international politics, however an overarching book on how emotions matter to the study of politics and war is yet to be published. This volume is aimed at filling that gap, proceeding from the assumption that a nuanced understanding of emotions can only enhance our engagement with contemporary conflict and war.

Providing a range of perspectives from a diversity of methodological approaches on the conditions, maintenance and interpretation of emotions, the contributors interrogate the multiple ways in which emotions function and matter to the study of global politics. Accordingly, the innovative contribution of this volume is its specific engagement with the role of emotions and constitution of emotional subjects in a range of different contexts of politics and war, including the gendered nature of war and security; war traumas; post-conflict reconstruction; and counterinsurgency operations.

Looking at how we analyse emotions in war, why it matters, and what emotions do in global politics, this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of critical security studies and international relations alike.

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Emotions, Politics and War

by Thomas Gregory and Linda Åhäll