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Drone Warfare
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015
One of the most significant and controversial developments in contemporary warfare is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. In the last decade, US drone strikes have more than doubled and their deployment is transforming the way wars are fought across the globe. But how did drones claim such an important role in modern military planning? And how are they changing military strategy and the ethics of war and peace? What standards might effectively limit their use? Should there even be a limit?
Drone warfare is the first book to engage fully with the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of UAVs. In it, political scientist Sarah Kreps and philosopher John Kaag discuss the extraordinary expansion of drone programs from the Cold War to the present day and their so-called �effectiveness� in conflict zones. Analysing the political implications of drone technology for foreign and domestic policy as well as public opinion, the authors go on to examine the strategic position of the United States - by far the world�s most prolific employer of drones - to argue that US military supremacy could be used to enshrine a new set of international agreements and treaties aimed at controlling the use of UAVs in the future.
One of the most significant and controversial developments in contemporary warfare is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. In the last decade, US drone strikes have more than doubled and their deployment is transforming the way wars are fought across the globe. But how did drones claim such an important role in modern military planning? And how are they changing military strategy and the ethics of war and peace? What standards might effectively limit their use? Should there even be a limit?
Drone warfare is the first book to engage fully with the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of UAVs. In it, political scientist Sarah Kreps and philosopher John Kaag discuss the extraordinary expansion of drone programs from the Cold War to the present day and their so-called �effectiveness� in conflict zones. Analysing the political implications of drone technology for foreign and domestic policy as well as public opinion, the authors go on to examine the strategic position of the United States - by far the world�s most prolific employer of drones - to argue that US military supremacy could be used to enshrine a new set of international agreements and treaties aimed at controlling the use of UAVs in the future.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2014
About the author
John Kaag
17 books210 followersJohn Kaag is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and author of American Philosophy: A Love Story. It is a story of lost library, a lost American intellectual tradition and a lost person--and their simultaneous recovery.
Kaag is a dispirited young philosopher at sea in his marriage and his career when he stumbles upon West Wind, a ruin of an estate in the hinterlands of New Hampshire that belonged to the eminent Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking. Hocking was one of the last true giants of American philosophy and a direct intellectual descendent of William James, the father of American philosophy and psychology, with whom Kaag feels a deep kinship. It is James’s question “Is life worth living?” that guides this remarkable book.
The books Kaag discovers in the Hocking library are crawling with insects and full of mold. But he resolves to restore them, as he immediately recognizes their importance. Not only does the library at West Wind contain handwritten notes from Whitman and inscriptions from Frost, but there are startlingly rare first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. As Kaag begins to catalog and read through these priceless volumes, he embarks on a thrilling journey that leads him to the life-affirming tenets of American philosophy―self-reliance, pragmatism, and transcendence―and to a brilliant young Kantian who joins him in the restoration of the Hocking books.
Part intellectual history, part memoir, American Philosophy is ultimately about love, freedom, and the role that wisdom can play in turning one’s life around.
John lives with his daughter, Becca, and partner, Carol, outside of Boston.
Kaag is a dispirited young philosopher at sea in his marriage and his career when he stumbles upon West Wind, a ruin of an estate in the hinterlands of New Hampshire that belonged to the eminent Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking. Hocking was one of the last true giants of American philosophy and a direct intellectual descendent of William James, the father of American philosophy and psychology, with whom Kaag feels a deep kinship. It is James’s question “Is life worth living?” that guides this remarkable book.
The books Kaag discovers in the Hocking library are crawling with insects and full of mold. But he resolves to restore them, as he immediately recognizes their importance. Not only does the library at West Wind contain handwritten notes from Whitman and inscriptions from Frost, but there are startlingly rare first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. As Kaag begins to catalog and read through these priceless volumes, he embarks on a thrilling journey that leads him to the life-affirming tenets of American philosophy―self-reliance, pragmatism, and transcendence―and to a brilliant young Kantian who joins him in the restoration of the Hocking books.
Part intellectual history, part memoir, American Philosophy is ultimately about love, freedom, and the role that wisdom can play in turning one’s life around.
John lives with his daughter, Becca, and partner, Carol, outside of Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 2, 2014
Kaag and Kreps provide a solid introduction to the interactions between drones and Just War Theory, using a philosophical perspective to illuminate the moral costs of armed drones, particularly as used by the United States during the past decade of the War on Terror. This book is good for what it is-but it's a conventional reading that is in my opinion (as somebody who has written on this extensively) hobbled by the built-in blinders of Just War Theory: that military actions should be restricted in the name of universal ethics and justice, that States are responsible to the will of their population, that ethical deliberation informs and improves policy. Their argument is moderate, reasonable, pragmatic, and impotent compared to, say John Oliver's argument that "drones are making people afraid of the sky."
The Obama and Bush Administrations have been very careful in making sure that their policies adhere to Just War legal principles, and as such arguments centered on the ethics of Just War basically mirror the political positions of opposing camps on the validity of recent American military adventurism.
The book that I'd like to see would discuss the operations, tactics, and power of drone warfare. This is not that book.
The Obama and Bush Administrations have been very careful in making sure that their policies adhere to Just War legal principles, and as such arguments centered on the ethics of Just War basically mirror the political positions of opposing camps on the validity of recent American military adventurism.
The book that I'd like to see would discuss the operations, tactics, and power of drone warfare. This is not that book.
December 29, 2019
This is an excellent book on the issues surrounding the use of drones in warfare, and in targeted killings.
The authors establish a solid argument about the moral and ethical issues with the US policies, and how it establishes a moral hazard.
This book is a great primer for those wanting to become more informed about the moral and ethical issues on drone warfare.
The authors establish a solid argument about the moral and ethical issues with the US policies, and how it establishes a moral hazard.
This book is a great primer for those wanting to become more informed about the moral and ethical issues on drone warfare.
February 12, 2023
Cracking intro to the discourse but now OUT OF DATE.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews