Extreme asymmetry in vulnerability transforms war into hunting or slaughter

Evidence

Using new means, the drone procures for its operators an even greater sense of invulnerability. Today as yesterday, the radical imbalance in exposure to death leads to a redefinition of relations of hostility and of the very sense of what is called “waging war.” Warfare, by distancing itself totally from the model of hand-to-hand combat, becomes something quite different, a “state of violence” of a different kind. It degenerates into slaughter or hunting. One no longer fights the enemy; one eliminates him, as one shoots rabbits. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 332

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how drones transformed the physical space-time of war, and to Chamayou’s broader redefinition of hostility. — connects to: The hunter-state model redefines armed violence around pursuing prey rather than fixed territory.; Fortification-artillery escalation mirrors predator-prey arms races, not rival contests; Accepted zero-risk killing would collapse just war theory (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Manhunting replaces Clausewitz’s duel with a hunter-prey asymmetry #expands (0.85) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 171