Dispatches From the Robot Wars; Or, What is Posthuman Security?

Image: Kevin L. Moses Sr./Wikimedia

This article was originally published by The Disorder of Things on 24 July 2014.

“So when are the intergalactic robot wars coming?” This is a question I’ve been asked (more than once) by colleagues who’ve heard that I’m working on posthumanist thought and international security. The implication is that what I’m doing is a kind of science fiction. Well, there’s definitely science (including robots – see below) and a rich fictional literature to draw on, but it’s not taking place in a galaxy far, far away. It’s very much rooted in, and attuned to, this planet.