T. William & Patricia Ayers:
Global Tipping Points -
The Changing Battlescape:
Drones & Modern Statecraft
As wars rage from Ukraine to the Middle East and technology races ahead, one tool has quietly reshaped how nations fight and signal power: drones. Once seen as destabilizing and dangerously escalatory, unmanned systems are now everywhere — providing intelligence, delivering strikes, and changing how governments test one another’s red lines.
But here’s the surprise: new research suggests drones may not be as escalatory as we once feared.
Join the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire for a timely conversation with Dr. Erik Lin-Greenberg, Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT, on how drones are transforming modern warfare and global politics. In this moderated discussion, Dr. Lin-Greenberg will unpack how states use drones, how adversaries respond when they’re shot down, and what this means for crisis stability, deterrence, and the future of conflict.
Attend in person or online to better understand the technologies that are redefining war — and why they may be making global competition more complicated, but not necessarily more dangerous.
Doors open at 5:30 pm for a light reception and opportunity to connect with the local community.
WACNH will livestream this event to its global audience through YouTube on its website homepage.
About the Speaker
Erik Lin-Greenberg is Associate Professor (without tenure) in the Department of Political Science at MIT. His research examines how emerging military technology affects conflict dynamics and the regulation and use of force. His book, The Remote Revolution: Drones and Modern Statecraft (Cornell University Press), explores how remote warfighting technologies are reshaping international politics. In other ongoing projects, he explores how technology and public opinion influence international politics and decisions on the use of force. He is also interested in the international politics of food and the use of wargaming as a tool of scholarly inquiry.
His work has appeared or is forthcoming in academic and policy outlets including Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Experimental Political Science, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Security Studies, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. He has held fellowships at Dartmouth's College Dickey Center for International Understanding, the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House, and at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. He received the 2020 Merze Tate Award from the American Political Science Association.
He completed his PhD in Political Science at Columbia University, and an M.S. and B.S. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before entering academia, he was an active duty officer in the United States Air Force and completed assignments in operational units, Headquarters Air Force, and the Joint Staff. He currently commands a squadron in the Air Force Reserve.
