Be Careful What You Wish For: Changing Doctrines, Changing Technologies and the Lower Cost of War

Abstract

The collective security structure created by the U.N. Charter is becoming shakier than ever, and two recent trends pose particular challenges to Charter rules on the use of force. The first trend involves a normative shift in understandings of state sovereignty, and the second trend involves improvements in technology -- specifically, the rapid evolution of unmanned aerial vehicles, precision weapons, and surveillance technologies. Each trend on its own raises difficult issues. Together, they further call into question international law’s ability to meaningfully constrain the use of force by states.

Keywords: sovereignty, counterterrorism, U.N. Charter

JEL Classification: K00, K30, K39