Dr Doug Specht, Chartered Geographer, Reader and Assistant Head of Westminster’s School of Media and Communication, has written on the role of maps in conflict across three publications – The Conversation, Geography Directions and Living Maps Network.
The articles highlight how maps can be used to dehumanise the enemy and the victims, fuel conflict by creating an “us vs them” narrative and reinforce bias to serve as propaganda.
In The Conversation article titled How maps are used and abused in times of conflict, Dr Specht gives an overview of the power of maps. He puts emphasis on how maps can be manipulated and turned into a subjective resource, giving them “immense power”. In the article, which was republished in Asia Times, he explores examples of this power, looking at how maps have been used throughout history in a variety of conflicts including the Vietnam War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel and Gaza conflict and in the lead up to the Rwanda genocide.
The Geography Directions article takes a more focused approach, exploring the use of maps in the Gaza war. Dr Specht explains: “Maps have played an especially cruel role in the creation and now destruction of Gaza.”
Once more he highlights how maps can both passively and actively dehumanise populations. He adds: “The maps used in the media to help us understand the ongoing conflict in Gaza show us contested lands, ill-defined borders and territory to be fought over. But they hide more than 30,000 lives that have been extinguished, 70,000 injured and the endless trauma of bombardment, bereavement and starvation.”
The Living Maps Network article titled Mapping the Unmappable: Cartography at War, delves further into the role maps play and the impact they can have on war, exploring this topic in greater depth. The paper aims to show the “enduring significance of cartography in shaping the conduct and outcomes of warfare, while also exploring the broader implications of the connection between maps and war for geopolitics and international relations”.
In the article Dr Specht states: “Despite advances in technology and changes in warfare tactics, the fundamental role of maps in shaping the conduct and outcomes of conflicts remains unchanged. Beyond their practical utility, maps also carry symbolic and ideological significance, reflecting broader narratives of power, dominance, and territorial sovereignty. To map is to take a measure of the world, to take the shifting complexity and liveliness of society and turn it into something fixed.”
Read the full articles in The Conversation, Geography Directions and Living Maps Network.
