Human Security Lab Features New Research on Civilians

University of Oslo’s Anne-Kathrin Kreft will join Human Security Lab’s on May 11 to present her new article in American Political Science Review on the vulnerabilities of civilian men and boys in armed conflicts.

The abstract for the paper, “Imperfect Victims? Civilian Men, Vulnerability and Policy Preferences,” is as follows:

Who is deemed vulnerable and in need of protection has a bearing on important policy decisions, such as refugee acceptance or provision of aid. In war, dominant narratives construe women as paradigmatic victims, even while civilian men are disproportionately targeted in the most lethal forms of violence. How are such gender-essentialist notions reflected in public opinion? Do regular citizens have inaccurate perceptions of male victimization in war, and with what consequences for their policy preferences? We carried out survey experiments among U.S. and U.K. respondents on both real and hypothetical conflicts, where we emphasized or varied the gender of the victims. In support of our expectations, respondents consistently underestimate the victimization of men, perceive civilian male victims as less innocent, and hold anti-male biases when it comes to accepting refugees and providing aid. However, informing respondents of the vulnerability of male civilians to targeted assassinations and massacres mitigates these effects.

Anne-Kathrin Kreft is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Political Science department at the University of Oslo. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Gothenburg (2019), an MA in Political Science from Western Washington University (2010), and a BA in British and American Studies and Text Technology from the University of Bielefeld (2007).

The meeting is open to the UMass and Five Colleges Community and to the public and can be accessed by Zoom. Students, graduate students and faculty are welcome.

Topic: Human Security Lab Featured Speaker: Anne-Kathrin Kreft, "Imperfect Victims: Civilian Men, Vulnerability and Policy Preferences"

Time: May 25, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/94472995168