A Theory of the DroneDrone warfare has raised profound ethical and constitutional questions both in the halls of Congress and among the U.S. public. Not since debates over nuclear warfare has American military strategy been the subject of discussion in living rooms, classrooms, and houses of worship. Yet as this groundbreaking new work shows, the full implications of drones have barely been addressed in the recent media storm. In a unique take on a subject that has grabbed headlines and is consuming billions of taxpayer dollars each year, philosopher Grégoire Chamayou applies the lens of philosophy to our understanding of how drones are changing our world. For the first time in history, a state has claimed the right to wage war across a mobile battlefield that potentially spans the globe. Remote-control flying weapons, he argues, take us well beyond even George W. Bush's justification for the war on terror. What we are seeing is a fundamental transformation of the laws of war that have defined military conflict as between combatants. As more and more drones are launched into battle, war now has the potential to transform into a realm of secretive, targeted assassinations of individuals—beyond the view and control not only of potential enemies but also of citizens of democracies themselves. Far more than a simple technology, Chamayou shows, drones are profoundly influencing what it means for a democracy to wage war. A Theory of the Drone will be essential reading for all who care about this important question. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 11 | |
| 21 | |
| 26 | |
| 30 | |
| 37 | |
PatternofLife Analysis | 46 |
Kill Box | 52 |
Combatant Immunity | 127 |
A Humanitarian Weapon | 135 |
Precision | 140 |
Indelicate Murderers | 153 |
Warfare Without Combat | 158 |
License to Kill | 167 |
In War as in Peace | 177 |
Democratic Militarism | 185 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
action aerial Afghanistan Air Force American armed conflict armed drones armed violence army assassination attack become body bomb bomber civilians claim classic co-presence combat counterinsurgency death Defense defined Derek Gregory distance doctrine drone operators drone pilots drone strikes dronization effects enemy Eyal Weizman eyes fight hostile human humanitarian hunting Ibid insurgents International Israeli jus in bello kamikaze Kant Kenneth Anderson kill box kind laws of war lethal lives longer machines manhunting means Michael Walzer missiles MISSION INTELLIGENCE COORDINATOR moral one’s political possible pragmatic precision Predator Predator drone present Press principle principle of distinction problem protection reciprocal remote control right to kill risk robots sacrifice SAFETY OBSERVER SENSOR OPERATOR simply soldiers sovereign sovereignty strategy suicide bomber surveillance Targeted Killing terrorist theory thesis tion Unmanned Unmanned Aerial Vehicles vulnerability Walter Benjamin Walzer warfare weapon Yeah York zone