ABSTRACT
For many academics, puzzling queries and questions often come in the form of media interviews, and my own experience is no different. After returning from a rather surreal meeting of the International Studies Association in New York City, in what James Der Derian aptly described as a “Kafka-esque hotel,” I received a phone call from a Canadian media outlet asking for some analysis and comment on the recent deployment of unmanned aerial drones, known as Predators, over the Manitoba/North Dakota border. Trying to muffle my laughter and preserve some notion of professionalism, I responded to the questions posed. My interest was heightened not simply by the fact that the drones were mobilized, but by the questions posed regarding their deployment. Aside from some typical concerns regarding what one might hope to achieve through the use of this technology, and the potential domestic US politics that surrounded the decision to mobilize the drones, many questions focused on a complete disdain for the fact that this technology gained infamy in its use in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was now being used in Canadian airspace by the US to monitor or supposedly “undefended border.” Before the week was out I had fielded calls from media outlets from five countries, which far surpassed the interest in any other issue I have commented on to this date.
