Over the past month, Dr Peter Lee, Reader in Politics and Ethics at the University of Portsmouth has written two articles for The Conversation regarding the ongoing atrocities in Syria.  His first article Vacuum bombs in Syria: the latest chapter in a long history of atrocity from the skies has attracted nearly 300k views on the site, which promotes knowledge based, ethical and responsible journalism with academic rigour.  Looking at the thermobaric bomb (or vacuum bomb) and its alleged use in Syria by both the Syrian and Russian governments the article takes us through the strategy and thought in using these devices, the tacit acceptance of collateral damage by those deploying them, and the immorality of their use when knowingly deployed against mass civilian populations to remove a military target.

Peter’s most recent article Who is winning the battle for the moral high ground in Syria? continues the discussion of morality after the recent apparent chlorine gas attack in Aleppo.  In this article Peter looks at “the distinct moral underpinnings to every action in Syria” and whether you agree with those morals or not, he argues that these should be acknowledged in order to understand the conflict.

You can find more discussion around Syria on The Conversation by following the topic on their home page.

For more information about Dr Peter Lee and his research, please find him on our ‘Meet the Readers’ page on our website.