Postgraduate students, fellows, staff and faculty from any discipline are welcome. This group aims to foster frequent interdisciplinary critical dialogue across Oxford and beyond about the political impacts of emerging technologies.
Please contact Elisabeth Siegel at elisabeth.siegel@politics.ox.ac.uk in advance to participate or with any questions. Remote attendance is possible, but in-person attendance is prioritized (and provided refreshment).

We consider the threat posed by Commercially-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) civilian UAV platforms, modified for hostile non-state actor use in civilian, and urban warfare environments. Potential aggressors possess small-scale conflict ‘skills’ gained in Syria and Iraq by various Islamist groups, including Al Qaeda and ISIS, with ‘gamer’ first person view technology, alongside innovations markedly increased during COVID, with modified UAVs operated in various novel ways.

Postgraduate students, fellows, staff and faculty from any discipline are welcome. This group aims to foster frequent interdisciplinary critical dialogue across Oxford and beyond about the political impacts of emerging technologies.
Please contact Elisabeth Siegel at elisabeth.siegel@politics.ox.ac.uk in advance to participate or with any questions. Remote attendance is possible, but in-person attendance is prioritized (and provided refreshment).

Drones have become the iconic weapon of the war in Ukraine. They are being used on both sides, in numbers that were previously inconceivable. The role played by civilian systems is particularly noteworthy. But should we expect future wars to look like the war in Ukraine, or are we witnessing “peak drone”?  

In this talk, Dr. Franke discusses how drones are being used by Ukraine and Russia, the role they are playing and the extent to which they are changing warfare. How is the technology evolving, and what lessons should Western nations draw from this?

Postgraduate students, fellows, staff and faculty from any discipline are welcome. This group aims to foster frequent interdisciplinary critical dialogue across Oxford and beyond about the political impacts of emerging technologies.
Please contact Elisabeth Siegel at elisabeth.siegel@politics.ox.ac.uk in advance to participate or with any questions. Remote attendance is possible, but in-person attendance is prioritized (and provided refreshment).

We apologise that this seminar is cancelled . We will aim to reschedule another time for Nicholas’ presentation.