Roundtable: Autonomy and Arms: Navigating the Future of Military Technology
Dr Julia Macdonald, University of Denver & Asia New Zealand Foundation
Monday, 25 August 2025 1:00pm
Christchurch
UC Campus Room (to be determined)
The NZIIA Christchurch branch is delighted to invite you to a roundtable discussion of Julia Macdonald’s recent book "The Hand Behind Unmanned: Origins of the US Autonomous Military Arsenal" (published 2025, OUP).
The book draws on interviews of senior decision-makers, military doctrine and writings, and historical sources, to detail the proliferation of over a hundred years of unmanned weapons in the US arsenal. It reveals how multiple factors – key policy entrepreneurs, critical junctures like the fall of the USSR and 9/11 attacks, beliefs that emerged in the wake of the Vietnam War, and US military service culture – all interacted to form today’s unmanned arsenal.
This talk will explore key themes of the book as well as consider how its argument applies to the current international security environment. How will these beliefs evolve to impact future force developments? What does this case of unmanned technologies reveal about US support for Ukraine, or for contemporary weapons debates about cyber, space, and hypersonic missiles? And what does it suggest about how the US military might fare across an array of possible future conflicts?
The event will take place on UC Campus, and a room will be confirmed in the coming days.
The NZIIA Christchurch branch is delighted to invite you to a roundtable discussion of Julia Macdonald’s recent book "The Hand Behind Unmanned: Origins of the US Autonomous Military Arsenal" (published 2025, OUP).
The book draws on interviews of senior decision-makers, military doctrine and writings, and historical sources, to detail the proliferation of over a hundred years of unmanned weapons in the US arsenal. It reveals how multiple factors – key policy entrepreneurs, critical junctures like the fall of the USSR and 9/11 attacks, beliefs that emerged in the wake of the Vietnam War, and US military service culture – all interacted to form today’s unmanned arsenal.
This talk will explore key themes of the book as well as consider how its argument applies to the current international security environment. How will these beliefs evolve to impact future force developments? What does this case of unmanned technologies reveal about US support for Ukraine, or for contemporary weapons debates about cyber, space, and hypersonic missiles? And what does it suggest about how the US military might fare across an array of possible future conflicts?
The event will take place on UC Campus, and a room will be confirmed in the coming days.
Membership
NZIIA membership is open to anyone interested in understanding the importance of global affairs to the political and economic well-being of New Zealand.