Drone Warfare in Counterterrorism and Normative Change: US Policy and the Politics of International Law

Abstract

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones in counterterrorism has changed the face of warfare and is challenging international law on a number of levels. This article assesses some of those challenges in the context of the Obama administration’s justifications to use drones for targeted killing. It focuses on the US as a norm entrepreneur that purposefully works to alter prevalent norms related to the use of drones in counterterrorism efforts. The article analyses normative developments and the meaning-in-use of existing legal provisions that are invoked to justify US policy in this area. By focusing on norm entrepreneurs, this article moves away from purely structural accounts of normative change towards a stronger emphasis on actors and the role of agency. Rather than understanding US drone policy as violating international law, this article argues that the Obama administration was acting as a norm entrepreneur in its counterterrorism efforts, aiming to change the meaning of a number of international legal concepts to justify its policy decisions.