Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the U.S. inaugurated the use of armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones to combat terrorists. Since then, drones have proliferated broadly. Over 102 countries and nearly 65 stateless groups now possess drones. This suggests that “drone warfare” is no longer merely a U.S. phenomenon focusing on counterterrorism. Rather, countries and other non-state actors are acquiring drones and using them differently.
Ukraine, for instance, has capitalized on drones to help block Russia’s seizure of Kyiv to install a puppet regime. Given this development, how do we understand emerging patterns of drone warfare globally? What is the evolving proliferation of drones for international security and global order? How do these consequences, in turn, shape policies to manage the emergence of automated and autonomous remote-warfare technologies?
This panel discussion draws on the insights of three experts to answer these and related questions, including Emeritus Professor William Maley, Associate Professor Cecilia Jacob, and U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Paul Lushenko.
Event Speakers
Professor John Blaxland
John is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies and former Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, member of the Australian Army Journal editorial board, and the first Australian recipient of a US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative grant.
Cecilia is Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations. She is an Australian Research Council DECRA fellow and visiting fellow at the Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict at the University of Oxford. Her work focuses on civilian protection, mass atrocity prevention, and international human protection norms.
William Maley
William is Emeritus Professor at ANU, where he was Professor of Diplomacy from 2003-2021. He is a Member of the Order of Australia, a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. He was admitted as a Barrister of the High Court of Australia in 1982.
Paul Lushenko
Paul is a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and General Andrew Jackson Goodpaster Scholar at Cornell University, where he is pursuing a PhD in International Relations. After commissioning as a Military Intelligence Officer in 2005 from the United States Military Academy, he studied at ANU as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and the U.S. Naval War College.