Thompson Chengeta
Papers
4
Total Citations
32
H-Index
3
About
Thompson Chengeta is a legal scholar whose work sits at the critical intersection of international humanitarian law, human rights law, and emerging military technologies — specifically autonomous weapon systems (AWS). His research addresses one of the most pressing ethical and legal challenges of modern warfare: whether machines capable of making life-and-death decisions can ever comply with established rules of armed conflict. Chengeta's most cited work, "Measuring Autonomous Weapon Systems Against International Humanitarian Law Rules" (2015, 24 citations), provides a rigorous legal framework for evaluating AWS against binding principles such as distinction, proportionality, and precaution. His subsequent research tackles the troubling "accountability gap" — the legal vacuum that emerges when autonomous systems commit violations and no human actor can be meaningfully held responsible under existing international law. Perhaps most distinctively, Chengeta brings an African philosophical lens to this global debate, drawing on the concept of *ubuntu* — a Zimbabwean and broader African humanist philosophy emphasizing shared humanity and dignity — to argue for more ethically grounded constraints on AWS development. This cross-cultural contribution enriches a discourse often dominated by Western legal traditions, making Chengeta a unique and valuable voice in international law and emerging technology scholarship.
Research Focus
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