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The Scholars' CircleAuthor: The Scholars' Circle
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Scholars’ Circle – Drone warfare and Author interview : The Crime of Aggression and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – August 30, 2026
Monday, 31 August, 2026
The 21st century, and in particular the last five years, have seen a significant increase in the use of drones in warfare. Unmanned weapons, often cheaper than many of the more complicated and advanced weapons used by major powers like the US and Russia, seem to be aiding defenders and making the battlefield more even. What can these drones do? Do they make wars more likely to break out? Or do they improve the defenders abilities and hence serve as cautionary tale against aggression? And how do they change the battlefield? [ dur: 30mins. ] Ori Swed is Associate Professor of Sociology at Texas Tech University. He is Director of the Peace, War & Social Conflict Laboratory. He is the co-author of “Emulating underdogs: Tactical drones in the Russia-Ukraine war” And “The Empirical Determinants of Violent Nonstate Actor Drone Adoption“ Roberto J. González is a professor of anthropology at San Jose State University. He is the author of The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future (2022) Hugh Gusterson is Professor of Anthropology and Public Policy at the University of British Colombia. He is the author of Drone: Remote Control Warfare and with Professor Gonzalez the co-editor of Militarization: A Reader. In response to the devastation of World War I, world leaders lead by France and the US negotiated the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This outlawed aggressive war and outlined the crime of aggression. It was the legal foundation for one of the crimes prosecuted at Nuremberg and Tokyo following World War II. And the UN Charter, specifically Article 2 (4), not only outlaws aggressive war but even threatening aggressive war. But the definition of aggressive war has been a legal and political challenge for the last 100 years. Perhaps no current scholar has been more committed, more influential, and more productive on this specific issue than our current guest. [ dur: 28mins. ] Jennifer Trahan has a new book on this precise issue. In The Crime of Aggression and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, she uses this very current and incredibly important case to demonstrate the historical development of this crime and the need to harmonize its definition and to prosecute its violation. Jennifer Trahan is a Clinical Professor and Director of the Concentration in International Law and Human Rights at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs. This program is produced by Doug Becker, Maria Armoudian, Ankine Aghassian, Anna Lapin and Sudd Dongre. Politics and Activism, War / Weapons, drones, warfare, laws on war
