Announcing the Final Examination of Michael Yekple for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Security Studies
Under what conditions are drones effective in protecting civilians in armed conflict? And what factors shape support for their use for civilian protection in armed conflict? Drones have been adopted into international peacekeeping operations for protection of civilians in armed conflict based on expected effectiveness in performing difficult tasks with limited risks. However, the effectiveness of drones has been primarily explored within the context of the War on Terror. We know little about drones’ effectiveness in non-combat areas, like civilian protection in peacekeeping. This dissertation fills this gap by focusing on questions that emerge at the intersection of the fields of emerging technologies, peacekeeping and civilian protection, political violence, and the broader security studies, with the aim of extending these literatures and to provide policymakers and scholars a framework for conceptualizing emerging technologies for civilian protection in armed conflict. Empirically, it employs qualitative evidence consisting of document reviews; archival work; and, expert interviews with officials at the UN headquarters and mission levels, mission intelligence officers, peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers, in assessing the effectiveness of drones in peacekeeping for civilian protection. It additionally employs an original survey and a survey experiment among civilian adult populations in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to examine what factors shape civilian support for the adoption of drones in peacekeeping. Overall, this dissertation provides valuable insights for both scholars and policymakers who, due to the limited research on this subject, often base assumptions about drone effectiveness in other domains like peacekeeping on their performance in combat contexts.
Committee in Charge:
Dr. Jonathan Powell, Chair
Dr. Konstantin Ash, Co-Chair,
Dr. Andrew Boutton
Professor Roger Handberg
Professor Kwesi Aning (Outside member)
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