Date of Award
12-2023
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Political Science
Advisor/Committee Chair
Bryan Early
Abstract
Drone technology has become a revolutionary development in warfare. They allow a nation to conduct offensive operations far from any soldier or base. As such, they have spread rapidly over the past few decades to incorporate many of the world’s foremost military powers. This thesis sought to discover the motivations and methods of acquisition of drones between different regime types. The research found a correlation between autocracies and democracies importing drones from similarly aligned states. Secondly, autocracies were found to be motivated to acquire drones due to a foreign supply excess and democracies were motivated by a domestic desire for them. Lastly, it was found that autocratic states seek prestige and status by acquiring drones, and that democracies sought to reduce domestic casualties and collateral damage in their acquisition of drones. This research can hopefully assist predictions on nations that will acquire drones and how different regime types will go about proliferation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hagan, Pete R., "Droned In: The Acquisition and Motivational Differences Between Autocracies and Democracies" (2023). ALL - Honors Theses. 9.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/all_honors/9