ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by describing some of the diverse work on the impact of technological developments on the conduct of warfare. The literature on military technologies is almost as diverse as the technologies themselves. Outside of the realm of the scientific, engineering and technical papers there is also a wealth of scholarship that addresses issues of importance to social science – the legal, ethical, social, psychological and cultural implications of the use of different kinds of technologies in warfare. Military scholars and the sub-discipline of security studies have traditionally been concerned with the conduct of war, with strategic decisions made by leaders and with the conditions of the international system. Narratives of masculinity and femininity are reflected in discourses of military technologies and feminist and gender theorists have engaged directly with ideas, symbols, and discourses of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality in relation to military technologies, particularly weapons.
