Military technology and revolutions in warfare: priming the drone debate.

The collection of essays in the special debate tackle the claim that drones deserve their acquired status as a revolutionary technology that has indelibly recast warfare. It is a debate embedded within a long-running and contentious, broader discussion about the role technology plays an independent variable affecting the character and perhaps the nature of war. How far can the introduction of a new technology really alter ways of fighting or radically impact battlefield outcomes? The complexity of the issue is reflected in the diversity of positions and approaches taken by the debaters. The purpose of these papers is not to arrive at a conclusion through a dialectic process; rather, readers are left to form their own views after weighing up the strengths of the arguments presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]