Category Archives: Hannah Arendt

Predator Empire, Dronification of State Violence – Open Access

Posted on June 12, 2014 by understandingempire

Two of my papers on drone warfare have been made freely available by the publisher: Ian Shaw and Majed Akhter, The Dronification of State Violence (2014). Geopolitics. Available here. This article explores the shifting methods of U.S. state violence. Building … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseworld, Biopolitics, Hannah Arendt, History of Drones | Leave a comment

The Endgame: The War of All Against All (The Dronification of State Violence, Conclusion)

Posted on April 29, 2014 by understandingempire

The Endgame: The War of All Against All (The Dronification of State Violence, Conclusion) “The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world” — Hannah Arendt, 1969[1] The … Continue reading →

Posted in Biopolitics, CIA, Customs and Border Patrol, Drone Technology, Empire, Hannah Arendt, History of Drones, Law and Lawfare, Pakistan, Policing, Terrorism and Counterterrorism | Leave a comment

The Dronification of State Violence, Part V: A Well-Oiled Killing Machine, and the Rule by Nobody

Posted on April 27, 2014 by understandingempire

Previous section: The Dronification of State Violence, Part IV: The Predator A Well-Oiled Killing Machine, and the Rule by Nobody The creation of the drone target is an intensely bureaucratic process. Understanding the various processes behind what Gregory McNeal calls a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biopolitics, Brennan, Hannah Arendt, History of Drones | Leave a comment

The Dronification of State Violence, Part IV: The Predator

Posted on April 26, 2014 by understandingempire

Previous section: The Dronification of State Violence, Part III: The Drone War Paper Trail The Predator “The bar for war had been lowered, the remote-controlled age had begun, and the killer drones became an object of fascination inside the CIA.”—Mark Mazzetti[1] … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, CIA, Hannah Arendt, History of Drones, Pakistan, Special Forces | Leave a comment

The Dronification of State Violence, Part 1: Life and Death in the West Wing

Posted on April 17, 2014 by understandingempire

This post is part of a series of sections from a broader paper, which can be found online here. Full citation: Ian Shaw and Majed Akhter (2014) The Dronification of State Violence, Critical Asian Studies, 46(2): 211-234. Introduction: Life and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biopolitics, Brennan, CIA, Empire, Geopolitics and International Relations, Hannah Arendt, Law and Lawfare, Obama, White House Politics | Leave a comment

The Dronification of State Violence – published

Posted on April 9, 2014 by understandingempire

I have just been notified that Critical Asian Studies have published my co-authored paper, “The Dronification of State Violence.” Here’s the abstract: This article explores the shifting methods of U.S. state violence. Building on their earlier work, the authors focus … Continue reading →

Posted in Biopolitics, CIA, Geopolitics and International Relations, Hannah Arendt, History of Drones, Law and Lawfare, Martin Heidegger, Obama, Pakistan, Secrecy and Surveillance | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Chalmers Johnson on Empire – and the space for thought

Posted on July 4, 2013 by understandingempire

This video comes from 2007 as part of Berkeley’s “Conversations with History” show. The inimitable Chalmers Johnson discusses his “Blowback” trilogy of books — “Blowback”, “Sorrows for Empire” and “Nemesis”. All of them revolve around U.S. foreign policy and militarism. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biopolitics, Chalmers Johnson, Hannah Arendt | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Reflections on Drone Violence and Robot Soldiers: Lessons from Hannah Arendt

Posted on January 29, 2013 by understandingempire

Reflections on Drone Violence and Robot Soldiers: Lessons from Hannah Arendt In this post, I extend Arendt’s thoughts on violence and power to modern drone warfare, which represents the ascendency of violence through technological and bureaucratic means. Without the “social check” of … Continue reading →

Posted in Drone Technology, Hannah Arendt | 2 Comments