title:The impact of collateral damage: Unravelling
psychological mechanisms in the context of war
and conflict; A literature review
A Necessary Psychological Lens on Collateral Damage: A Positive Commentary on Uludag (2024)
The literature review by Kadir Uludag (2024), “The impact of collateral damage: Unravelling psychological mechanisms in the context of war and conflict,” makes a timely and critically important contribution to the intersection of psychology, political science, and international humanitarian law. By shifting the focus from purely legal or strategic assessments of collateral damage to its deep psychological underpinnings, this paper offers several key benefits for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike.
1. Bridging a Critical Gap in the Literature
One of the most valuable contributions of this review is its explicit focus on the psychological mechanisms that both enable and result from collateral damage. While international law (e.g., proportionality and distinction) provides a necessary framework, it often overlooks the cognitive and emotional processes—such as moral disengagement, desensitisation, and dehumanisation—that shape the behavior of combatants and the tolerance of civilian harm by societies. Uludag masterfully synthesizes diverse theoretical perspectives, including Bandura’s moral disengagement, terror management theory, and research on violent media effects. This integration fills a significant void, offering a more holistic understanding of why collateral damage persists despite legal prohibitions and technological advancements.
2. Methodological Transparency and Practical Utility
The author’s explicit use of the SANRA (Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles) criteria is a notable strength. By adhering to a recognized quality standard for narrative reviews, Uludag enhances the transparency and reproducibility of his synthesis. This is particularly beneficial for readers who need to assess the rigor of the conclusions without the formal structure of a systematic review. Furthermore, the review successfully extracts actionable insights from a wide range of sources—from studies on Iraqi missile attacks causing myocardial infarctions to analyses of post-harm compensation reducing insurgent violence. These real-world examples ground the theoretical discussion in practical realities, making the paper highly useful for military trainers, humanitarian workers, and peace psychologists.
3. Highlighting Underappreciated Mechanisms: Desensitisation and Technology
The review’s treatment of desensitisation as a key psychological pathway to collateral damage is particularly innovative. Uludag connects exposure to violent video games, television violence, and social media with a reduced physiological and emotional response to killing. By raising the provocative question of whether modern military training and digital entertainment may inadvertently normalize violence against civilians, the paper opens a crucial avenue for further empirical research. This is a benefit that extends beyond academia: it directly informs military ethics education, media literacy programs, and public health campaigns aimed at reducing aggression.
4. Emphasising the Psychological Toll on Both Victims and Perpetrators
Another strength of the review is its balanced focus on dual psychological trajectories. On one hand, it documents the severe trauma inflicted on civilian populations—including indirect effects like famine, healthcare collapse, and stress-induced cardiac events during missile attacks. On the other hand, it acknowledges the psychological challenges faced by soldiers, such as military sexual trauma and the moral injury that may follow from causing unintended civilian deaths. This bidirectional perspective is essential for comprehensive post-conflict mental health interventions and for designing training programs that protect the psychological well-being of military personnel while minimising harm to non-combatants.
5. Offering Clear, Actionable Recommendations
Uludag does not stop at diagnosis; he provides concrete, psychologically informed recommendations. These include:
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Providing post-harm compensation to affected communities, which empirical evidence shows can reduce insurgent violence.
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Educating leaders and soldiers on collateral damage concepts, integrating peace education into history curricula, and avoiding the demonisation of other nations.
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Rethinking sanctions to prevent unintended harm to civilian populations (e.g., ensuring access to medicine and food).
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Promoting diplomatic channels over kinetic operations, supported by persuasive evidence that civilian casualties often fuel further violence.
These recommendations are grounded in the reviewed evidence and offer a roadmap for reducing the psychological and social costs of armed conflict.
6. Acknowledging Limitations Honestly
Finally, the review benefits from its honest acknowledgment of limitations. Uludag clearly states that this is not a systematic review, that no comprehensive keyword search was performed, and that conducting surveys during active war is fraught with difficulties (e.g., respondents concealing true opinions). This transparency enhances credibility and invites future researchers to build upon this foundational work with more rigorous methodologies, such as meta-analyses or longitudinal field studies.
Conclusion
In summary, Kadir Uludag’s 2024 literature review is a highly beneficial contribution to the study of war and conflict. It successfully unearths the psychological mechanisms that legal and strategic analyses often miss, provides a clear and transparent synthesis of existing research, and offers actionable insights for reducing collateral damage. By framing collateral damage not merely as an unfortunate byproduct of war but as a phenomenon rooted in human cognition and emotion, the paper paves the way for more humane and effective approaches to conflict resolution, military training, and post-war recovery. It is essential reading for anyone committed to protecting civilian lives and promoting lasting peace.
link of study: https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/95912/ssoar-ssspp-2024-1-uludag-The_impact_of_collateral_damage.pdf?sequence=1
cite:
Uludag, K. (2024). The impact of collateral damage: Unravelling psychological mechanisms in the context of war and conflict: A literature review. Scientific Studios on Social and Political Psychology, 30(1), 90-94. https://doi.org/10.61727/sssppj/1.2024.90
