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Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Sociology - War and Peace, Military, grade: 14, University of St Andrews (School of International Relations), course: International Political Theory, language: English, abstract: Since the beginning of mankind, new technology has been developed. Some civilisations ceased to exist because of ideas. Others evolved because of new technology. From the increased use of archery to the invention of nuclear weapons, advances in military technology and tactics have been controversial.
Currently scholars claim drones to be "an affront to humanity" (Linden, 2015, p. 189). Others argue that drones are "the silver bullet of democratic warfare" (Sauer, 2015, p. 363). The polarized academic debate oscillates between demonization and unmitigated praise. Though, as a matter of fact, drones exist like the hope and mischief of Pandora's Box.
This essay tries to see them as what they arc: tools. Prometheus' Theft of Fire implicated life but also death. The lighthouse of Alexandria probably saved lives. Nero's apocalyptical burning down of Rome costs hundreds of lives. If we understand unemotionally the pros and cons of drones, we are able to judge. Then we might consider them as tools of policy. This essay argues that drones have certain positive aspects. The question is not whether drones are good or bad, but how to build an ethical and legal framework to govern their use.
