Drone theory. Discussion accompanying the exhibition Desensitization

We invite you to the premiere of the book Drone Theory by Grégoire Chamayou, translated by Oskar Hedemann in the context of Karolina Grzywnowicz's exhibition Desensitization.

“The more drones float in the air, the less they are visible,” writes Przemysław Wielgosz in the introduction to Grégoire Chamayou's book. In Western societies, we have quickly become accustomed to the fact that unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with deadly missiles are used in current wars, armed conflicts and so-called special operations. We also hear about drones being a more humane weapon than others.

Chamayou not only demolishes the myth of the drone as a precise device designed to limit the number of civilian casualties, but above all invites reflection on the far-reaching consequences of the military application of this technology. In his opinion, we are witnessing a re-evaluation of fundamental ethical, political, legal and anthropological categories. The weapon of remote killing changes the rules of combat: it eliminates direct contact between the parties and at the same time erases the distance between them; the clash of two subjects turns into execution, and the enemy into the pursued. It thus undermines the war ethos and the associated notions of valor, cowardice, responsibility and justice. As a result, it radically transforms the understanding of what war is and what is peace, what is threat and what is security. And it ultimately influences our beliefs about how relations between the state and the citizen should be shaped.

Interestingly, however, these processes take place almost in passing, unnoticed by the media and public opinion. Chamayou shows that in order for them to be imperceptible and to gain widespread acceptance, they must be accompanied by a process of consciously and consistently replacing the ethics of combat with a specific ethic of killing. Referring to rich historical material — military documents, philosophical texts and debates — the author also takes a critical look at the mechanisms of the production of necroethics.

Thirteen years since the French edition of The Drone Theory not only does not lose its relevance, but in many ways it turns out to be downright prophetic. Clear and supported by extensive knowledge, Chamayou's arguments can act as sobering salts, especially since it brings more than reflection on the use of drones. It makes us think about the rudiments of the functioning of our societies.

Przemysław Wielgosz - journalist, publisher and curator. Editor-in-chief of the Polish edition of “Le Monde diplomatique”. In the RM publishing house he is the substantive editor of the series Ludowa Historia Polski. He has published in “Cultural News”, “Przekroj”, “Piśmie”, “Dwutygodnik”, “Znak”, “Guardian”, “Aspen Review” and “Freitagu”, among others. He is the author of the books Opium Globalización (2004), Welcome to Harder Times (2020) and Games of Race. How Capitalism Divides to Rule (2021), nominated for the 2022 Nike Literary Award; editor and co-author of The End of Europe as We Know It (2013), Debt Dictatorship (2016), Real Capitalism. Around the Theory of Monopolistic Capital (2018), Economies of the Future (2021). He was the curator of the series “Economies of the Future” at the Warsaw Biennale, “Folk History of Poland” in the Free Speech Zone, “Stories of People Without History” at the Eighth Day Theater, “More Light” at the Culture Center in Lublin and “Transformations. An unnatural history of environmental crises” in the Free Speech Zone and MSN in Warsaw.

Maria Wodzińska - Doctor of Humanities, interdisciplinary researcher, lecturer at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at the University of Warsaw. Her research interests focus on biopolitical and necropolitical power structures and investigative and forensic practices mapping the relationship between nature and the environment, extractivist capitalism, and migration. Together with Adam Cichoni, he is preparing a research project that problematizes the issue of the use of drones and technologies enabling observation.

Adam Cichoń — philosopher, cultural and film scholar. Lecturer at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” and at the Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw, as well as a collaborator of the Laboratory of Techno-Humanities. His main research interests revolve around aesthetics, film theory and new media. He has published, among others, in “Film Quarterly” and “Sztuka i Filosofia”. Together with Szymon Wróble, he co-edited the collective volume Images Between Series and Stream (Universitas, Kraków 2023). Together with Maria Wodzińska, she is preparing a research project that problematizes the issue of the use of drones and technologies enabling observation.

PARTNERS OF THE EVENT: Wydawnictwo Karakter