UAVs and the End of Heroism? Historicising the Ethical Challenge of Asymmetric Violence

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe growing reliance on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in armed conflict raises important questions regarding our conception of both war and the warrior’s place within it. This includes the question of whether the degree to which UAVs mitigate physical risk has imperilled the ethical status of the operator. For those that view this tension as resolvable, reference is frequently made to the eventual acceptance of previous categories of “unfair” weaponry. This article engages with this historical context, identifying the role of physical risk within the historical and contemporary warrior ethos. It first outlines that exposure to personal, physical risk has long been regarded as a crucial element in the ethos-based conception of legitimate violence in war. As will be further shown, however, the warrior ethos is an evolving framework, one that increasingly considers factors such as restraint and professionalism in determining ethical status. The adaptive quality of this ethos is a key explanatory factor in the historical resolution of asymmetry-challenges. The ability of UAV pilots to align with this more responsibility-driven iteration of the warrior ethos is one way in which the ethical legitimacy of their violence can be sustained.