The University of Liège launches the Centre for the Study of War and Violence

Against a backdrop of widespread remilitarisation in Europe and armed conflicts that are reshaping the international order, the University of Liège has taken a significant academic step: the creation of a research centre dedicated to the reflective and independent study of war and organised violence. Operating solely with funding free from conflicts of interest, the Centre for the Study of War and Violence will make it its mission, in particular, to work towards the scientific consolidation of this field of study, which is significantly influenced by the interests and perspectives of the very actors it is supposed to analyse.

It was in the Kurth lecture theatre on Place du Vingt Août that Julien Pomarède, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Political Science and Criminology, presented the Centre for the Study of War and Violence to a large audience. In his introductory remarks, Julien Pomarède outlined three founding principles upon which the Centre intends to work towards the academic independence of studies on war and defence: “Firstly, we will work exclusively with public research funding, ensuring complete freedom in formulating questions, conducting research and publishing results,” explains Julien Pomarède. Secondly, we will systematically place the devastation of war – in its epistemic (the knowledge of war), human, socio-political and environmental dimensions – at the heart of our analysis, refusing to reduce it to a strategic variable or an inevitable tragedy of war. Scrutinising the processes of devastation of civilian and human lives, of the environment, and the use of prohibited munitions, or even questioning the non-strategic logic of military violence, are all approaches that require financial support granting complete freedom to research. It is precisely because mass violence is so shocking, so sensitive and has such appalling consequences that the issue of research independence is all the more crucial.  Finally, we intend to  develop active transnational cooperation in order to establish an independent research space at the international level, and particularly within Europe."

The opening event took the form of a public lecture hosted by Edouard Delruelle, Full Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts at ULiège. Four leading researchers shed light on the theme "War, Weapons and Democracy", illustrating precisely the diversity of approaches that the CSWV aims to bring together:

• Mathias Delori, a CNRS Research Fellow at the Centre for International Research at Sciences Po Paris (CERI), explored forms of democratic (anti)militarism and their historical and contemporary expressions.
• Anne Lagerwall, Professor of International Law at the Centre for International Law (CDI) at the ULB, examined the legal legitimacy of military interventions carried out in the name of protecting human rights, and the tensions these create with the prohibition on the use of force between states.
• Benoît Pelopidas, Professor at the Centre for International Research (CERI) at Sciences Po Paris, highlighted the links between the arms race, the erosion of democratic processes and the environmental destruction it causes.
• Christophe Wasinski, Professor of International Politics at the Centre for Research and Studies in International Politics (REPI) at the ULB, analysed the dynamics of the global arms market and their implications for democratic regimes.

Beyond the academic question, the Centre is firmly situated within a democratic challenge. At a time when the widespread remilitarisation of Europe is presented as an inevitable given by many political and military decision-makers and analysts, Julien Pomarède highlights the urgent need for rigorous scientific scrutiny, drawing on lessons from other fields of study that have achieved significant scientific autonomy: “We would not doubt for a moment, at least in academia, that it is scientific autonomy that underpins the societal added value of certain sub-fields of study during critical historical moments. Climate science  gives us the means to make sense of climate change and to act upon it. Research on migration and migration control has played a key role in understanding the ‘migration crisis’ in the Mediterranean and the root causes of its tragedies. The same applies to scientific research on social inequalities and political regimes, which are respectively important for addressing the growing socio-economic divides in our societies and the shift of democracies towards authoritarianism. These sub-fields remind us that the contribution of science does not lie in reproducing the viewpoints of the actors involved in policy-making, but in engaging in dialogue with them—a dialogue that can be particularly fruitful precisely because of the scientific rigour acquired in the first place. This is a shift that has yet to take place in the field of war and defence studies. And tonight’s presentations and discussions have helped to objectify this observation and, above all, to show that this scientific evolution is both possible and desirable. The Centre for the Study of War and Violence thus aims to highlight the fact that greater scientific independence in this field will enhance its societal and democratic value.

www.centrewarviolence.uliege.be