Fetishised data

Counterterrorism, drone warfare and pilot testimony

Bibliographic Data

ID12918809
AuthorsMichelle Bentley (0000-0003-3016-6194, Royal Holloway University of London, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume11
Issue1
Pages88-110
Publication date2017-11-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Studies on Terrorism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1753-9161 • E-ISSN: 1753-9153
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17539153.2017.1399787
OpenAlexW2767224011
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited57

Drones now comprise a major part of our culture – primarily as a consequence of the so-called War on Terror and the rise in violent extremism. Yet the available data on what it means to operate a drone (where this can influence wider perceptions on the appropriateness and effectiveness of remote warfare as an act of counterterrorism) is highly contradictory. This article explores a new source of data capable of shedding light on this contested issue: online interviews with current and former pilots discussing their personal experiences. Access to this testimony has the potential to influence cultural understandings of remote warfare, specifically where these stories highlight the severe psychological difficulties pilots can be subject to. In analysing this new data, however, the article questions whether the media typically employed to express pilot testimony comprises an appropriate space in which to publicise and engage with this evidence. It argues that this presentation has caused these personal accounts to become fetishised – to the extent this undermines the cultural, political, and informative value of the data and even reinforces the narratives of remote warfare this testimony frequently seeks to reverse

Criminology · Drone · Media studies · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Presentation (obstetrics · Sociology · Subject (documents · Terrorism · War on terror · Computer Science · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence · War, Ethics, and Justification