Elizabeth Brown is a PhD student in the Department of War Studies, where her research focuses on justice, ethics, and human rights during and after conflict. Her interest in these issues first developed during her undergraduate studies at King’s, where she gained a BA in War Studies and History. She then continued at King’s at the postgraduate level, studying for a Master’s degree in International Peace and Security. During her time at King’s, she has also gained valuable practical experience, taking part in crisis simulations and specialised conflict analysis training. She has also taken advantage of the many extra-curricular opportunities offered by the Department, volunteering at the annual NATO conference and attending talks and discussions with preeminent scholars and military practitioners. In 2020, she was awarded the Director’s Prize for the highest-achieving student in her Master’s cohort.

Elizabeth is co-ordinator of Kings’ War Crimes Research Group, a collective of interdisciplinary scholars working on war crimes, atrocity and international law. She is also a Graduate Teaching Assistant within the Department of War Studies, where she has experience teaching on international law, human rights and contemporary security modules. 

Research Interests

• War crimes
• Human rights
• Justice and accountability
• International law

Elizabeth’s research surrounds the interplay between human rights and security during conflict, with a particular focus on the political, legal, and moral repercussions when human rights are compromised. 

Thesis

The Politicisation of British Military Justice in Iraq and Afghanistan

Though the wars in Iraq (2003-2011) and Afghanistan (2011-2021) often bring to mind heroic images of weary soldiers surrounded by sand and rubble, a second set of pictures of significantly less moral fortitude have also left their mark on the British public consciousness. News images of Baha Mousa’s battered corpse, of Iraqis being tied in nets, hung from forklifts and sexually humiliated at Camp Breadbasket, and of the killing of an injured Taliban soldier by a British marine, have all challenged typical understandings of British soldiering.

Moreover, while the incidents recorded in these snapshots of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan indicate incidents of abuse which clearly contravene the laws of warfare, the processes of accountability which followed these acts of criminality have been far from clear-cut. Traditionally closed-off apparatuses of military justice are now increasingly being brought within view of public and political scrutiny, and as a result, the search for justice, and potentially just as importantly for explanations, continues to overshadow discussions of Britain’s military and its conduct in contemporary warfare.

Public debate concerning Britain’s controversial overseas involvement and its public image as a champion of human rights continues to be inflamed by these unfortunate incidents long after sentences, or, more commonly, acquittals, have been handed down. This project seeks to better understand how military justice has been understood within public and political spheres following allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses during these conflicts, and explore what impacts this has had on Britain and its military.

Supervisors

• Professor Rachel Kerr
• Professor David Whetham

Elizabeth Brown PURE Profile