The Drone Age

This book explores how the unique features of drone technology alter the strategic choices of governments and non-state actors alike by transforming their risk calculations and expanding their goals on and off the battlefield. It considers how drone technology will impact the patterns of war and peace in the next century: Will drones produce a more peaceful world because they reduce risk to pilots, or will the prospect of clean, remote warfare lead governments to engage in more conflicts? Will drones begin to replace humans on the battlefield or will they empower soldiers and peacekeepers to act more precisely and humanely in crisis zones? How will terrorist organizations turn this technology back on the governments that fight them? How will drones change surveillance at war—and at home? As drones come into the hands of new actors—foreign governments, law enforcement, terrorist organizations, humanitarian organizations, and even UN peacekeepers—it is even more important to understand what kind of world they might produce. By changing what these actors are both willing and able to do, drones are quietly altering the dynamics of wars, humanitarian crises, and peacekeeping missions, while generating new risks to security and privacy. An essential guide to a potentially disruptive force in modern world politics, The Drone Age argues that the mastery of drone technology will become central to the ways that governments and non-state actors seek power and influence in the coming decades.