Research Proposal:Are states behaving in a predictable, non arbitrary fashion when using Drones

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Assignment Instructions

This assignment requires you to write a proposal that states your research question and your research strategy for addressing it.

Topic: “The international rule of law when it comes to the use of Drones as a technological innovation that transforms war into individual targeted strikes and humane way of dispatching one’s enemy.

Research question will be: Are states behaving in a predictable, non arbitrary fashion when using Drones in a war on individual targeted strikes? Is there a legal use or a misuse of the international Law?

Research Proposal:

The research proposal must be between 8-10 pages in length not including title page or references.

Your title page should include the working title of your research project, your name, date, and course title.You should also have an abstract on your title page.

Your proposal should have the following sections:

Introduction: The introduction is where you identify your specific research question and where you set the general context for the study. In this section you need to include:

1-a statement of the problem or general research question and context leading to a clear statement of the specific research question;

2-background and contextual material justifying why this case or topic should be studied;

3-and a purpose statement.

Literature Review: This short preliminary literature review section reviews the literature important to your specific research question. The literature review focuses on discussing how other researchers have addressed the same or similar research questions. It introduces the study and places it in larger context that includes a discussion of why it is important to study this case. It provides the current state of accumulated knowledge as it relates to your specific research question. In this section you should:

Summarize the general state of the literature (cumulative knowledge base) on the specific research question. For example if you discuss other studies that have been conducted you would summarize the researcher’s findings, how those findings were obtained, and conduct an evaluation of biases in the findings.

This section should provide a broad overview of the primary arguments related to the topic and organizes the general views on the main aspects of the topic by theme, which could be the prevailing arguments or schools of thought, or commonly held beliefs that your particular topic may challenge.

Include a short conclusion and transition to the next section.

In your literature review you should also discuss the theoretical framework to be used in the study.

From here you would then include a transition into your methodology section.

Research Design and Methods: Describes how you will answer your research question or test the hypothesis. This section describes your overall research design and how you plan to collect, synthesize, and interpret your data. It should include:

**identification and operationalization (measurement) of variables;

**a sampling plan (i.e., study population and sampling procedures, if appropriate);

**justification of case studies used;

**data collection/sources (secondary literature, archives, interviews, surveys, etc.);

**a summary of analysis procedures (pattern-matching, etc.); and

**the limitations of study and bias discussion.

***Conclusion: Reemphasizes the importance of your study and ties the proposal together.

Reference List: As with all academic papers you need to references the works that you have cited (direct quotes or paraphrases) in the text of your document and incorporate a complete reference list or bibliography at the end. This list needs to be in the style used within your field. APA= Criminal Justice, Turabian for all others in this course.

Remember that the references you use demonstrate your knowledge of the topic area.This research proposal is meant to convince your professor that you not only have identified a worthy question in need of investigation, but that you are also capable of carrying out the research involved to successfully answer that question.At the very least you should have referenced 12-15 peer-reviewed sources in this proposal.

Format:

Standard academic format will suffice: 1-inch borders on all four sides, double spaced, with times new roman 12-point font.

User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW AND DRONES

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The international rule of law when it comes to the use of Drones as a technological innovation
that transforms war into individual targeted strikes and humane way of dispatching one’s enemy
Name
Date
Course

INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW AND DRONES

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Abstract
Drone action has been so far one of the most controversial issues in military and international
relations. In an effort to elaborate the research process that will unearth whether countries are
behaving responsibly when ordering drone strikes, this paper is a proposal that outlines a brief
review of the literature as well as the methodology to be used. The paper presents a review of the
literature that shows that gaps exist in the literature hence the need to further review the topic. In
the research design and methods, a review of the overall samples and case studies which include
Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq is presented. This paper shows that research
using the provided question on whether countries are acting non-arbitrarily and predictably is
required and will be properly performed.

INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW AND DRONES

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The international law is anchored on the existence of shared values and lexicon that states
observe and agree on in the international system. Without any single judicial system that can
provide a generalized ruling on international conduct, states come together and agree on different
issues which they must adhere to as a way of ensuring that coexistence is possible. While being
widely advanced in the 21st century, the use of drones in military combat areas is one of the most
controversial issues in international law. The main controversy is the legality of drone air strikes
in many regions of the world. Therefore, this research will aim to answer the following research
question: Are states behaving in a predictable, non-arbitrary fashion when using Drones in a war
on individual targeted strikes? Is there a legal use or a misuse of the International Law? This
research question evaluates the behavior of state when conducting air strikes using drones and
mainly capitalizes on the claim that they should be predictable and non-arbitrary in their use of
drones.
The use of drones in warfare and surveillance is increasingly becoming common among
states. According to Horowitz (2016), in 2016, over 90 militaries and non-state actors owned
crones across the world. As such, drones come across as the most used autonomous weapons in
the world and raise an array of questions. Like all international laws, law on warfare and
violence remain vague and open to interpretation. For that matter, it is necessary to review
whether drone strikes by different states have followed the laws or they have been subject to
deviations in the past. With the ambiguity and vagueness available in international law, it has
become increasingly important to check whether the states behave responsibly in a predictable
and non-arbitrary manner when utilizing drones as autonomous weapons. The purpose of this

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proposal is to review the literature on the issue as well as propose a plan for unearthing the
answer to the controversial question on the use of drones and international law.
Literature Review
The Rule of Law
The issue on drones and their adherence to international law has a wide range of
literature. The first of such literature is that which focuses on defining the law and drones in
general. First, according to Stein (2009), the rule of law should be superior to everyone including
those people who are involved in enforcing it. Furthermore, he adds that the law must be
enforceable and it should also protect the rights and dignity of human beings. This definition of
the rule of law is further supplemented by Brooks (2013) who claims that the rule of law as a
system of processes and procedures that bind several entities and guide their behavior. These
explanations of what the rule of law should be guided to a system of rules and regulations that
must be obeyed by people who interact in some way. In the case of drones, this system involves
states and non-state actors whose international interactions need to be regulated by some
common law.
Moreover, the definition of the rule of law by the authors presents a path to a more
specific definition of international law as concerned to drones and warfare. First, according to
Brooks (2013), international law remains ambiguous and vague mainly due to the absence of an
international judiciary system. Therefore, determining the appropriate definition of international
law is not an easy task. However, the author further claims that the apparent lack of an
international judiciary system does not excuse states to behave in an arbitrary and unpredictable
manner (Brooks, 2013). For that matter, agreements on international levels show that states must

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act in a predictable and non-arbitrary manner towards each other. This is the basis of the rule of
law in international law.
Moreover, when stating the international law in war and relationships, Sterio (2012)
states that jus ad bellum or the right to war is the basis for all acts of war which also include airstrikes using drones in different regions of the world. The right to war, according to Saura
(2016), simply outlines the ethics and justification of war. A good example of how to define
these rights, according to Sterio (2012), is the view on the definition of the ‘global war on terror’
whereby the United States engaged in a worldwide strike on groups where terrorists were hiding.
This definition widens the view on international law and further its connection to and control on
states and how they wage war and use different weapons in different regions. Buchanan &
Keohane (2015) claims that the definition of the right to war is subject to manipulation and hence
leads to the apparent controversies on the use of drones in different regions of the world for
various purposes. They give the example of the justification of the United States to strike over
areas such as Syria and Pakistan and restrict any aerial surveillance over countries such as
Britain and France. Therefore, seemingly, from the ambiguity of the definition of international
law, it becomes increasingly hard for any one entity to clearly and doubtlessly define the right
approach to international law.
Ethicality of Drones
The ethicality of drones in warfare has been widely questioned by various authors with a
wide division of opinions coming across in literature. On one side, several authors quote the
ethics of the respect of human life in opposing the widespread using of drones by the United
States and other actors (Saura, 2016; Brunstetter & Braun, 2011, Porch, 2013). Particularly,
Saura (2016) looks at the drones from the automation point of view whereby they argue that

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most war equipment has already been automated and hence with the automation of drones, the
ethics question will be whether a robot can make a strike decision with the lives of innocent
people at stake. Brunstetter & Braun (2011) argue that drones change the traditional concept of a
just war as expressed in jus ad bellum. The researchers claim that the use of drones makes it hard
to come up with unhurried, justified decisions on the different principles of the right to war.
Other than the authors who oppose the use of drones, several others present an opposing
view further supporting their use as the new way of war. Primarily, Byman (2013) states that “In
places where terrorists are actively plotting against the United States, however, drones give
Washington the ability to limit its military commitments abroad while keeping Americans safe.”
This claim shows that the literature supports the use of drones overseas while soldiers are
maintained at home. Another view is that while drones and technologically-advanced weapons
may appear to be changing the meaning of war, they present an opportunity to conduct defense
strategies with a high precision (Yoo, 2017). This view is based on the observation that drones
increase the precision of strikes in warfare.
The United States and Other Countries
The basic question to answer in the research is whether states are acting in a predictable
and non-arbitrary manner. According to Sehrawat (2017), the law of armed conflict (LOAC) has
been widely considered by various statutes such as customary law, The Hague and Geneva
Conventions, and the UN statute. For that matter, the author feels that states have mostly acted in
a responsible manner regarding the respect to these laws. Moreover, in the support of this
supportive view towards the responsible use of drones, Larson & Malamud (2011) claim that the
“United States can make cross-border incursions into Pakistan on the basis of self-defense in

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response to fighting the War on Terror.” This claim supports the war on terror as a means of
excusing the self-defense action use of drones.
On the other hand, several authors feel that drone attacks have mostly been irresponsible.
First, Orr (2011) claims that the drone strikes are against international law but they also alter
how people should see international law in the face of terror threats such as Al-Qaeda. This
author feels that although the behavior of states may be questioned, it is justifiable due to
terrorism. Buchanan & Keohane (2015) argue that “states are using lethal drones unilaterally,
without transparency or accountability, and will do so more in the future.”
Theoretical Framework
From the review of literature, an overwhelming majority of authors reviews the ethics
and legality of the use of drones on the justification of the actions of the drone strikes according
to laws of war. Therefore, for the research, the main theoretical perspective to be used will be the
theory of just war. According to Allison (2015), the main controversy of using drones is in the
targeted killings whereby they are largely seen as assassination plots. Therefore, since the jus ad
bellum theory has several principles that define the justification of war, it will be used as the very
basis for judging the actions of state actors.
Primarily, the literature review presents a mixture of attitudes, opinions, and observations
on the issue of drone strikes and its legality in different scopes. With this divided overview of the
issue, there is an increasing need to convincingly answer the research question as a guide
towards regulation of policies. These sentiments lead to a wider issue of accountability in the use
of drone strikes and there is a huge disagreement in the literature regarding that issue (Aslam,
2011). For that matter, this research will embark on unearthing whether the conduct of states has
been responsible towards the same.

INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW AND DRONES

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Research Design and Methods
One of the major problems with drone research and activity is that most of the data
regarding the strikes is classified and sometimes scanty. Therefore, conclusions will mainly be
drawn from existing and archived evidence concerning the same. Overall, the research approach
will be a case methodology. The case approach will unearth trends across different regions and
countries and the trends will be the primary premises for making the ultimate conclusion on the
conduct of states when using drone strikes. The trends to be identified will be the basic strategies
utilized in making decisions, the decisions themselves, and the targets in terms of terror groups
and particular countries that ordered the drone strikes as well as the targeted countries.
The variables for this research will mainly include the targets and the targeters, as well as
the number of strikes and controversy surrounding these drone strikes. According to Horowitz
(2016), one of the primary issues to compare is the drone strikes perpetrated towards different
targets. For instance, drone strikes towards Somalia could be compared to those towards Pakistan
to determine the difference and attempt to connect the dots as to the decision-making system
used in making judgments. Primarily, the identification of the different decision-models for
different cases of drone-strikes will be outlined as a way of ensuring that all variables in play are
brought to the play. This approach will not only allow a comparison approach but also ensure
that any factors in play are considered in the research.
The case study approach presents a wide range of cases to consider when looking at the
drone strikes. Primarily, the Middle East has been the most affected region by the drone strikes
and this study will be based on countries in the region (Allison, 2015). The sampling of at least
five countries with the highest incidences of drone strikes from state actors will be included in
the study. The need for including at least five of these countries is that they will provide an

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opportunity for the researcher to compare difference incidences over a period of time as a way of
ensuring clarity in the research process. The countries to be considered will be Somalia, Yemen,
Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. This sample of countries is reached at due to the statistical
analysis of the number of drone strikes in the countries (Statista, 2016). Therefore, the
manageable number of five targets in the larger Middle East will be used as the case studies for
this research.
The countries that will be focused on regarding the firing of drones will mainly be the
United States, Britain, France, and most Western countries. Western countries are the most
focused on when it comes to the use of drones. The selection of the United States, in particular,
is due to the controversy following the country on its war on terror which has led to cross-border
incursions and a focus on a global war on terrorists. Particularly, the country can be seen as
having started the use of drones and air-strikes after 9/11 whereby it redirected most of its
military power towards the war against terror. Other than the United States, other Western
countries have been deeply involved in the drone strikes and war against terror, especially in the
Middle East. Therefore, it seems that most of the conflict has been between the conduct of the
West towards Eastern powers and labeled terrorists and terror cells mostly harbored by Middle
Eastern countries.
Elsewhere, the sampling plan for the research effort will mainly include collection of
documents detailing the air-strikes on these five countries from 2002 to 2015. These documents
will not be limited in scope. The primary documents to be used will be public-access government
agency documents detailing such missions or reporting the same. These range from reports by
the military to critical reports by agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Elsewhere, news reports and congressional reports will also be included in the study. The

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reliability of the news sources will also be scrutinized primarily favoring those news channels
that have been described as unbiased and objective. The secondary view of literature will be
crucial in unearthing relevant information on the issue and coming up with a conclusion on the
same.
Primarily, the timeline used by the research will be based on the scope of the war on
terror and the war on Al-Qaeda. After the attacks on World Trade Center on 11 September 2001,
the United States engaged in an intensive war on terror which allowed the global deployment of
soldiers and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to the regions where terrorists were suspected to be
harbored (Statista, 2016). For that matter, it is logical to start the study since 2002 when the first
aggressive efforts towards the war on terror using such technology were initiated. On the other
end, 2015 presents a year when data on air-strikes can be conveniently obtained.
Moreover, the data analysis phase will include the analysis of the nature of strikes
through pattern-matching. In qualitative research studies, pattern-matching mostly includes the
identification and comparison of different patterns discovered in a pool of data to identify the
similarities and differences evident in them. Using pattern-matching, the research will aim to
compare and contrast the different cases of the five main countries to be focused on in the study.
Using the pattern-matching approach, a coding section will be held to assist in coming up with
most common patterns which will then be used to place the different literature pieces into
different groups. The advantage of using this approach will be that as many patterns as possible
can be outlined. However, with a wide scope of patterns, the handling of information will be
tedious and problematic.
Furthermore, as a data analysis approach to supplement the pattern-matching approach, a
theory-guided approach will be applied to the obtained data. Primarily, the theory-guided

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approach will include the analysis of information and comparing it with the different principles
of the theoretical perspective used in the paper. The researchers will use reliable sources of
information on the just war theory to make objective decisions on whether different cases present
controversy on the theory and whether there are questionable areas in the different incidences of
drone air-strikes.
Elsewhere, the research is expected to be highly objective owing to the statement of the
lack of conflict of interest...


Anonymous
Just what I needed…Fantastic!

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