Neil Christopher Renic

Neil Christopher Renic serves as a Researcher at the Centre for Military Studies within the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Political Science. He concurrently holds a Fellowship at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg. His institutional affiliations position him at the intersection of military ethics, international law, and emerging warfare technologies, with documented office hours indicating active engagement in academic duties. His foundational work includes the 2020 Oxford University Press monograph Asymmetric Killing: Risk Avoidance, Just War, and the Warrior Ethos.

Renic's research program critically examines warfare's evolving character through dual lenses of technological innovation and ethical constraint. His primary focus areas—emerging military technologies, just war theory, and armed conflict regulation—converge in investigations of autonomous weapons systems' moral implications and the strategic consequences of battlefield misconduct. This interdisciplinary approach bridges political philosophy with empirical security studies, particularly analyzing how drone warfare and algorithmic targeting reshape accountability frameworks and humanitarian law compliance. His scholarship consistently challenges technological solutionism while exploring pathways for maintaining moral restraint in increasingly automated combat environments.

Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals a methodological pattern combining theoretical rigor with contemporary case studies, particularly Ukraine conflict analysis and nuclear deterrence frameworks. His work demonstrates growing interdisciplinary traction, evidenced by social media engagement across 102 X accounts and coverage in 9 news outlets for key publications. The research trajectory shows increasing attention to systemic accountability challenges in algorithmic warfare, with recent articles emphasizing the 'tragedy trap' of unaccountable weapons systems and the 'crimes of dispassion' inherent in automated killing.

Renic maintains active scholarly communication through Opinio Juris and peer-reviewed journals including Ethics and International Affairs and Australian Journal of International Affairs. His collaborative network spans European security institutions, with notable co-authorship patterns indicating strong research partnerships in military ethics. While specific grant funding isn't detailed in available materials, the international scope of his collaborations suggests participation in multinational research initiatives focused on emerging security challenges.

Based at the Centre for Military Studies (Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen), Renic contributes to one of Scandinavia's leading security research hubs. His work directly informs ongoing policy debates about lethal autonomous weapons regulation, with particular relevance to European Union arms control frameworks and NATO's evolving doctrine on emerging technologies. The Centre's interdisciplinary structure facilitates his integration of philosophical ethics with practical security policy analysis.