THE STRATEGIC EFFICACY OF DRONES FOR US GRAND STRATEGY

Q4 Social Sciences

Austral: Brazilian Journal of Strategy and International Relations Pub Date : 2021-01-06 DOI:10.22456/2238-6912.103781

Francis N. Okpaleke, A. Okoli

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Abstract

This paper assesses the role of drones in furthering or undermining US grand strategy. This is against the backdrop of the thinking that contemporary use of drones in the context of post 9/11 era undermine the successive US administration’s strategic objectives as evidenced by the rise of anti-Americanism in Muslim world, proliferation of drones by US near peer competitors, civilian death toll and weakening support for the US in targeted countries. This implies that while drones has played a historical and significant role for the US in power projection and asserting its unilateralism and military hegemony when dealing with rogue states and terrorist groups post 9/11, the political and strategic utility of drone strikes for US grand strategy is not apparent. Thus, this paper posits that though armed drones has played a quintessential role as a key instrument of statecraft for facilitating US offensive strategy in targeted states, the aftermath of drone strikes and its controversial aspects engender inimical outcomes that serve to undermine US strategic objectives. Based on qualitative analysis of secondary data, the paper questions the wisdom and benefits of using and shifting greater reliance towards armed drones, as a pathway for furthering US grand strategy.

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无人机对美国大战略的战略效力

本文评估了无人机在推进或破坏美国大战略方面的作用。这一观点的背景是，在后9/11时代的背景下，无人机的当代使用破坏了美国历届政府的战略目标，证据是穆斯林世界反美主义的兴起、美国的竞争对手大量使用无人机、平民死亡人数以及目标国家对美国的支持减弱。这意味着，尽管无人机在9/11事件后，在应对流氓国家和恐怖组织时，在美国的力量投射和维护其单边主义和军事霸权方面发挥了历史性的重要作用，但无人机袭击对美国大战略的政治和战略效用并不明显。因此，本文认为，尽管武装无人机作为一种关键的治国工具，在促进美国对目标国家的进攻战略方面发挥了典型的作用，但无人机袭击的后果及其有争议的方面产生了有害的结果，有助于破坏美国的战略目标。在对二手数据进行定性分析的基础上，本文对使用和转向更多依赖武装无人机作为推进美国大战略的途径的智慧和好处提出了质疑。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Austral: Brazilian Journal of Strategy and International Relations Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations

CiteScore

0.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

24 weeks

期刊介绍： AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy and International Relations was the first Brazilian journal in the area of International Relations to be fully published in English (2012). It is an essentially academic vehicle, linked to the Brazilian Centre of Strategy & International Relations (NERINT) and the Doctoral Program in International Strategic Studies (PPGEEI) of the Faculty of Economics (FCE) of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Its pluralist focus aims to contribute to the debate on the international political and economic order from the perspective of the developing world. The journal publishes original articles in the area of Strategy and International Relations, with special interest in issues related to developing countries and South-South Cooperation – its security problems; the political, economic and diplomatic developments of emerging countries; and their relations with the traditional powers. AUSTRAL is published semi-annually in English and Portuguese. The journal’s target audience consists of researchers, experts, diplomats, military personnel and graduate students of International Relations. The content of the journal consists of in-depth analytical articles written by experts (Professors and Doctors), focusing on each of the great continents of the South: Asia, Latin America and Africa. Thus, the debate and diffusion of knowledge produced in these regions is stimulated. All contributions submitted to AUSTRAL are subject to rigorous scientific evaluation.