Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Drone Warfare: Ethical and Psychological Issues

Drone Warfare: Ethical and Psychological Issues

Robert Paul Churchill
Copyright: © 2015 |Volume: 6 |Issue: 2 |Pages: 16
ISSN: 1947-3451|EISSN: 1947-346X|EISBN13: 9781466678569|DOI: 10.4018/IJT.2015070103
Cite Article Cite Article

MLA

Churchill, Robert Paul. "Drone Warfare: Ethical and Psychological Issues." IJT vol.6, no.2 2015: pp.31-46. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJT.2015070103

APA

Churchill, R. P. (2015). Drone Warfare: Ethical and Psychological Issues. International Journal of Technoethics (IJT), 6(2), 31-46. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJT.2015070103

Chicago

Churchill, Robert Paul. "Drone Warfare: Ethical and Psychological Issues," International Journal of Technoethics (IJT) 6, no.2: 31-46. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJT.2015070103

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite Full-Issue Download

Abstract

The United States is now relying on Reaper and Predator drone strikes as its primary strategy in the continuing War on Terrorism. This paper argues for the rational scrutiny drone warfare has yet to receive. It is argued that drone warfare is immoral as it fails both the jus in bello and the jus ad bellum conditions of Just War theory. Drone warfare cannot be accepted on utilitarian grounds either, as it is very probable that terrorists will acquire drones capable of lethal strikes and deploy them against defenseless civilians. Moreover, by examining the psychological bases for reliance on drone warfare, as well as the message the United States is sending adversaries, we need to be concerned that, rather than reduce the likelihood of terrorists strikes, the U.S. reliance on drones strikes threatens to institutionalize terrorism as the status quo for the foreseeable future.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.