Description
The Canadian military primarily uses short-range unarmed small drones but plans to introduce long-range armed drones and integrate various autonomous capabilities. While Canada adapts to the changing technology environment pushed by current conflicts and large states with immense weapons arsenals, there is little focus on how military members in these ‘adapting’ states see their role in these changes. The way that military members fit technological use into their lives relies on narratives around what type of military they believe they are part of. For Canadian military members this is structured around two poles: peacekeeper and warfighter. Canada has long portrayed itself as a peaceful and peacekeeping state which seeks to uphold a liberal international order, but Canadian participation in the NATO coalition during Afghanistan changed the character of the military to one which was focused on warfighting. These identities remain in tension in the Canadian military today, affecting how military members view the integration of armed and autonomous drones. Based on interviews with Canadian military drone operators, this paper argues that ethical reasoning among these individuals is affected by the type of military member they want to be and the type of military they want to be a part of.
