Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications
During the past decade, armed drones have entered the American military arsenal as a core tactic for countering terrorism. When coupled with access to reliable information, they make it possible to deploy lethal force accurately across borders while keeping one’s own soldiers out of harm’s way. The potential to direct force with great precision also offers the possibility of reducing harm to civilians. At the same time, because drones eliminate some of the traditional constraints on the use of force—like the need to gain political support for full mobilization—they lower the threshold for launching military strikes. The development of drone use capacity across dozens of countries increases the need for global standards on the use of these weapons to assure that their deployment is strategically wise and ethically and legally sound.

Presenting a robust conversation among leading scholars in the areas of international legal standards, counterterrorism strategy, humanitarian law, and the ethics of force, Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict takes account of current American drone campaigns and the developing legal, ethical, and strategic implications of this new way of warfare. Among the contributions to this volume are a thorough examination of the American government’s legal justifications for the targeting of enemies using drones, an analysis of American drone campaigns’ notable successes and failures, and a discussion of the linked issues of human rights, freedom of information, and government accountability.
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Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications
During the past decade, armed drones have entered the American military arsenal as a core tactic for countering terrorism. When coupled with access to reliable information, they make it possible to deploy lethal force accurately across borders while keeping one’s own soldiers out of harm’s way. The potential to direct force with great precision also offers the possibility of reducing harm to civilians. At the same time, because drones eliminate some of the traditional constraints on the use of force—like the need to gain political support for full mobilization—they lower the threshold for launching military strikes. The development of drone use capacity across dozens of countries increases the need for global standards on the use of these weapons to assure that their deployment is strategically wise and ethically and legally sound.

Presenting a robust conversation among leading scholars in the areas of international legal standards, counterterrorism strategy, humanitarian law, and the ethics of force, Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict takes account of current American drone campaigns and the developing legal, ethical, and strategic implications of this new way of warfare. Among the contributions to this volume are a thorough examination of the American government’s legal justifications for the targeting of enemies using drones, an analysis of American drone campaigns’ notable successes and failures, and a discussion of the linked issues of human rights, freedom of information, and government accountability.
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Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications

Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications

Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications

Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict: Ethical, Legal, and Strategic Implications

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Overview

During the past decade, armed drones have entered the American military arsenal as a core tactic for countering terrorism. When coupled with access to reliable information, they make it possible to deploy lethal force accurately across borders while keeping one’s own soldiers out of harm’s way. The potential to direct force with great precision also offers the possibility of reducing harm to civilians. At the same time, because drones eliminate some of the traditional constraints on the use of force—like the need to gain political support for full mobilization—they lower the threshold for launching military strikes. The development of drone use capacity across dozens of countries increases the need for global standards on the use of these weapons to assure that their deployment is strategically wise and ethically and legally sound.

Presenting a robust conversation among leading scholars in the areas of international legal standards, counterterrorism strategy, humanitarian law, and the ethics of force, Drones and the Future of Armed Conflict takes account of current American drone campaigns and the developing legal, ethical, and strategic implications of this new way of warfare. Among the contributions to this volume are a thorough examination of the American government’s legal justifications for the targeting of enemies using drones, an analysis of American drone campaigns’ notable successes and failures, and a discussion of the linked issues of human rights, freedom of information, and government accountability.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780226478364
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication date: 03/22/2017
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 307
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Cortright is associate director of programs and policy studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.


Rachel Fairhurst is a program coordinator at the International Women’s Development Agency in Melbourne.


Kristen Wall is a senior program officer at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Table of Contents

Preface: Coming to Terms with Drones Christof Heyns vii

Chapter 1 Assessing the Debate on Drone Warfare David Cortright Rachel Fairhurst 1

Chapter 2 The Morality of "Drone Warfare" Jennifer M. Welsh 24

Chapter 3 Drone Warfare and Military Ethics Dr. Martin L. Cook 46

Chapter 4 International Law and Drone Attacks beyond Armed Conflict Zones Mary Ellen O'Connell 63

Chapter 5 Drone Strikes and the Law: From Bush-Era Detention to Obama-Era Targeted Killing Karen J. Greenberg 74

Chapter 6 Justifying the Right to Kill: Problems of Law, Transparency, and Accountability Pardiss Kebriaei 88

Chapter 7 The Strategic Implications of Targeted Drone Strikes for US Global Counterterrorism Audrey Kurth Cronin 99

Chapter 8 Security Implications of Drones in Warfare Patrick B. Johnston 121

Chapter 9 Winning without War: Evaluating Military and Nonmilitary Strategies for Countering Terrorism David Cortright Rachel Fairhurst 142

Chapter 10 Targeted Killings and Secret Law: Drones and the Atrophy of Political Restraints on the War Power Mary Dudziak 163

Chapter 11 Understanding the Gulf between Public and US Government Estimates of Civilian Casualties hi Covert Drone Strikes Chris Woods 180

Chapter 12 The Myth of Precision: Human Rights, Drones, and the Case of Pakistan Rafia Zakaria 199

Conclusion: The Future of Drone Warfare: Research Challenges and Policy Options David Cortright Rachel Fairhurst 213

Notes 223

List of Contributors 283

Index 285

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