The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Contemporary Conflict: A Legal and Ethical Analysis

The increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in contemporary conflict has stirred debate among politicians, government officials, and scholars. Spokes-people for the U.S. government often highlight the precision of UAVs and argue that this quality enables military action to comply with the international humanitarian law principles of distinction and proportionality. This article criticizes the technologically advanced weapons on the same ground on which the US. government has defended them: meeting international standards of distinction and proportionality. The article opens with a discussion of the legal implications of Just War theory It then offers a critique of the politico-military discourse surrounding UAVs and presents a philosophical framework that might lessen the confusion surrounding the ethics of modern warfare. The article closes with a discussion of the various ways that defenders of the UAVs overstate the ability of technology to answer difficult legal and political questions that the principles of distinction and proportionality pose. Polity (2012) 44, 260-285. doi:10.1057/pol.2012.2; published online 13 February 2012