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Drone strikes, ephemeral sovereignty, and changing conceptions of territory

ABSTRACT Drone strikes, ephemeral sovereignty, and changing conceptions of territory. Territory, Politics, Governance. One of the questions posed about contemporary US drone strikes is to what extent these strikes, particularly those occurring outside of Iraq and Afghanistan, are reshaping our conceptions of territory and sovereignty. It appears that geographies of war and of the use or projection of force are radically changing. This article examines the US legal frameworks for drone-targeting operations, and in particular the conceptions of territory they draw upon, to argue that contemporary strikes reflect less a disappearance of the importance of territory and sovereignty to justifications of the use of force than a reconfiguration of their meanings. Grounded in an understanding of territory that is more networked and dynamic, drone strikes reflect the emergence of a new landscape of mobile and ephemeral sovereignty.