International law is dead, long live international law: the state practice of drone strikes

New means and methods of war such as remote warfare by drones—the focus of this special issue—challenge international law, as there no longer exists agreement between states regarding the rules regulating the use of force. The existing legal norms are interpreted in widely diverging manners and seemingly put aside if not in the interest of the state in question. Yet, this article argues that, taking a closer look at the state practice of drone strikes beyond the paradigmatic case of the USA, the demise of international legal norms regulating the use of force seems overstated. Instead, the analysis reveals that the international laws addressing the use of force and means and methods of warfare are not as dead as the general discourse asserts, and can still serve to regulate state action.