Dr Brian Rappert

Extension: 3353

Telephone: 01392 723353

Associate Professor

My long term concern has been the social and ethical dilemmas associated with modern science and technology. I have sought to examine how choices about the adoption and regulation of technology are made where there is uncertainty and disagreement.

In recent years, much of my work has been directed towards the social, political, moral and technical aspects of the use of force by military and police organisations. The central substantive concerns herein are two-fold, to examine: how claims about the acceptability of the use of force are justified and how notions of what constitutes responsible conduct by security-related agencies are negotiated. Considering how public commentators attempt to justify contentions about what constitutes ‘acceptable force’ has led me to more theoretical questions about the basis of knowledge claims and the politics of representation.