Abstract: Border control authorities, vigilantes, and criminal organizations use drones to track movement across the US-Mexican border. EU member states’ military drones patrol the Mediterranean Sea for migrants alongside drones operated by humanitarian organizations. This paper examines the complex security landscape that is unfolding as states deploy military drones for border security and non-state actors with sharply diverging motives develop their own drone surveillance capacities. We argue that border security drones have contrary political, policy, and ethical implications. First, the encroachment of military technologies into non-military security operations may have adverse security repercussions, but drones may also save migrants’ lives as they make dangerous journeys through deserts and across rough seas. Second, drone surveillance erodes privacy but also creates new accountability mechanisms. Finally, drones may obviate some visible signs of security, such as fences, while also introducing an invisible security apparatus that extends beyond state boundaries. These contradictory effects help to explain the complex policy formation processes underlying drone border security programs in the United States and Europe as well as the challenge of reaching clear answers about whether drone security is desirable.

中文翻译：

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无人机穿越边境：美国和欧盟的边境安全无人机

摘要：边境管制机构，治安维持者和犯罪组织使用无人机来追踪美墨边境的移动。欧盟成员国的无人驾驶飞机与人道主义组织运营的无人机一起在地中海巡逻移民。本文考察了随着国家为边界安全部署军用无人机以及动机迥异的非国家行为者发展自己的无人机监视能力而出现的复杂安全形势。我们认为边境安全无人机具有相反的政治，政策和道德影响。首先，将军事技术入侵非军事安全行动可能会对安全产生不利影响，但无人驾驶飞机还可能在穿越沙漠和波涛汹涌的海上进行危险旅行时挽救生命。第二，无人机监视会侵蚀隐私，但也会创建新的问责机制。最后，无人驾驶飞机可能会消除一些可见的安全迹象，例如栅栏，同时还会引入一种超出国家边界的隐形安全装置。这些矛盾的影响有助于解释美国和欧洲无人机边境安全计划所依据的复杂的政策形成过程，以及就是否需要无人机安全达成清晰答案的挑战。