Two research interns have joined HUD’s activities at the University of Copenhagen during Autumn 2024. Victor Holmberg and Sebastian Noa Basse Petersen are each conducting independent research projects expanding HUD’s work and supporting other core research tasks. For their independent projects, Sebastian is drawing on participatory work conducted with a football team for vulnerable adults in Copenhagen, particularly refugees dealing with mental illness or trauma. He does so to understand the role of football and sports in transforming society and – perhaps – as a critique of how such processes are understood in the Global South, as opposed to cities like Copenhagen. Meanwhile, Victor is conducting a study into the ‘unregulated voyeurism’ of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, exploring the “need for the creation and exploration of space in the drone economy” through an aesthetic sensibility. Empirically, he does so through a core cross-comparative focus on Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

You can read more about each of the projects below.

Relinquishing Ambition:
Design, football, and humanitarianism

Sebastian Noa Basse Petersen

How does over-ambition in humanitarianism risk undermining the very goals it aims to achieve? By examining the role of football and other sports initiatives in humanitarian settings, this HUD project argues that focusing on practical, modest interventions—rather than grand, overarching goals—creates spaces that support positive social and humanitarian engagement. Specifically, football—often seen as a tool for peacebuilding, development, social cohesion, and well-being—can foster meaningful humanitarian work when approached with humility and realism.

While the potential for social change through sports, particularly football, has gained increasing attention, there is growing critique of exaggerated claims about its impact in humanitarian contexts. Both scholars and practitioners often confuse football’s potential for positive outcomes with the conditions needed to achieve them. Rather than prioritizing lofty ambitions like peacebuilding or social cohesion, humanitarian efforts using football should focus on designing safe, accessible spaces where vulnerable people can find leisure, community, and moments of relief. Simple but significant achievements—such as easing boredom, disrupting daily routines, and offering physical and mental respite—are often overlooked but are essential for supporting communities in distress, including traumatized refugees and marginalized groups.

Following this, this project draws on fieldwork conducted with a football team for vulnerable adults in Copenhagen, particularly refugees dealing with mental illness or trauma. Through an embedded participatory approach, the research shows how an empty football pitch can become a humanitarian space—a place where the act of playing football itself, rather than competitive practice, becomes a source of care and connection.

By comparing sports-based social service initiatives in Scandinavia with humanitarian football efforts in the Global South (Colombia and the DRC), it is evident that similar projects are framed and evaluated very differently. In the Global North, these interventions are often measured by more modest, practical terms, while in the Global South, they tend to carry larger expectations—such as peacebuilding or community integration. These higher expectations, while well-intentioned, can obscure the more immediate, everyday benefits that football can offer, which are vital for marginalized groups in both the Global North and South.

Rather than asking whether sports are inherently good (promoting social development, cohesion, peace) or bad (leading to exclusion, injustice, exploitation), as much of the existing literature does, this sub-project revisits a more grounded approach to how positive outcomes are achieved. Moving away from grand, essentialized ideas about football and focusing on the specific, relational aspects of humanitarian (football) practice allows for a critical engagement with the limitations of sports for social change, while also recognizing their potential.

Ultimately, this HUD sub-project seeks to reshape how humanitarian (football) practice is understood by emphasizing the importance of creating accessible, leisurely spaces for vulnerable populations. By letting go of overly ambitious goals and concentrating instead on the everyday practices and physical spaces that enable football to serve as a humanitarian tool, a clearer understanding of the dynamics of humanitarian space emerges, avoiding the illusion of sports as a universal solution to social problems.

Unregulated voyeurism:
Drones, militarization, and humanitarianism

Victor Holmberg

The drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), originally emerged as a military technology. It first saw use under President Clinton, but its role expanded during the Bush administration and became a central tool in the war on terror under Obama. The rise of drones popularized terms like “precision warfare,” “kill lists,” and marked a shift toward algorithm-driven surveillance. Scholars have debated the impact of drones on how we understand war and knowledge, often framing these discussions within two opposing views: techno-constructivism and techno-determinism.

Over time, the drone industry has rebranded, emphasizing its potential for humanitarian purposes like medicine, disaster relief, climate protection, and managing refugee crises. This paper explores the political economy of humanitarian drones, tracing their connection to military history, the regulations that govern their airspace, global production practices, and the industry’s efforts to legitimize itself.

As noted by experts, the success and perception of humanitarian drones are shaped by complex geopolitical and sociocultural factors. This analysis examines how drones are used by NGOs, start-ups, and major corporations in regions like Central Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. It also compares the promises of the humanitarian drone industry with its real-world applications in aid work, focusing on the partnerships that drive this sector, especially Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), which link the drone economy to the larger tech and weapons industries.

Focusing on the idea of the “good” humanitarian drone, I explore the need to create and manage the spaces where drones operate. This raises questions about how drones see the world—the “drone gaze”—and the visual and aesthetic impact of their surveillance. A famous remark from a former military drone operator described the drone’s perspective as creating a “voyeuristic intimacy.” This leads to a deeper examination of whether drones, with their all-seeing, “God’s-eye” view, demand a new understanding of knowledge and the material realities of posthuman technology.

Ultimately, this discussion touches on a broader debate: whether it is possible to separate drones’ military, commercial, and humanitarian roles. This question carries significant implications for how drones are used in humanitarian aid and ties into larger conversations about techno-utopianism and the fantasies surrounding technology. Across all sectors, the drone industry seems driven by a desire for unregulated, almost voyeuristic control.