In this lecture, we think about drones in counter terrorism, focusing in particular on: (i) the fact that drones, or Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicles (UCAV), are piloted from a distance, limiting risk to allied combatants; (ii) the popularity of drones in the war on terror; (iii) the potential for drones to perform precision strikes, which target individuals and limit civilian casualties; (iv) the fact that many drone pilots are not military in background, but are from the videogame industry; (v) the moralistic argument of the difference between killing in person and killing remotely; (vi) an advantage of drone pilots being remote being their limited exposure to negative emotions which might escalate a conflict situation; (vii) the potential for drones to enter ‘dirty environments’ which would be too dangerous for humans, as well as to operate at full capacity for much longer periods of time; (viii) the lack of accountability in drone warfare.

--

This lecture is part of a larger course exploring national security and the threat of terrorism: massolit.io/courses/national-security-and-terrorism?source=yt

--

MASSOLIT works with university academics to produce short video lectures in the arts, sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is available to schools and colleges on an institutional license as well as via private subscription: massolit.io/?source=yt