Abstract. Camera-fitted drones are now easily affordable to the public. The resulting proliferation of the aerial gaze raises a series of critical issues, ranging from the changing regimes of visibility across urban and rural space to the novel risks and dynamics of control implied by current drone developments. The paper argues that a distinct "spatial curiosity" and "power sensitivity" are required if we are to grasp and explore these issues. On this basis, and grounded in an extensive literature review, the paper outlines a politico-geographical research agenda for the investigation of the making, functioning and implications of drone systems. Such an agenda, it is claimed, could afford deepened insight into the driving forces that are behind current drone developments, would show how drones work in different institutional contexts, and could highlight how drones impact on the envisioned reality. This in turn would provide a deepened understanding of the "politics of visibility", "politics of the air" and "politics of the ground" conveyed by drones, and open up a wider conceptual reflection on the role of the aerial dimension in the projection of power across and within space.

Abstract. Camera-fitted drones are now easily affordable for the public. The resulting extension of the vertical gaze raises a series of critical questions, ranging from the changing regimes of visibility and control that characterise today's world of "big data from the sky" to the novel opportunities, risks, and power dynamics hence implied. The paper addresses these issues empirically, focussing on the popular perception of commercial and hobby drones in Switzerland. This provides a deeper understanding of the driving forces and obstacles that shape current drone developments and highlights that the societal diffusion of private drones today transforms the very ways in which the aerial realm is lived and perceived, as a highly contested space of risks, opportunities, and power. This discussion is rooted in a research approach that places questions of power and (air-)space at the centre when approaching the drone problematic.

Abstract. This paper focuses on the Swiss border guard's relationship with the border space since the use of military drone systems (ADS-95 Ranger) for surveillance missions. Firstly, the paper highlights how the use of these flying devices both facilitates and limits the acquisition of new knowledge by the border guards. It then explores the way in which the fundamentally mobile and flexible nature of this technology also gives rise to new surveillance practices and identification controls. We show that these changes influence the border guard's relationship with the border. To achieve this, our analysis is based on empirical data obtained from semistructured interviews with key players in the field, action maps and field observation carried out during a "drone engagement" in September 2014. One major question therefore guides this study: how do military drone systems -by way of the new knowledge and practices they generate -influence relationships in the border space?

En Suisse, l’utilisation des drones policiers à des fins sécuritaires s’accentue depuis les années 2000. Pourtant, les citoyens suisses restent peu informés de leur introduction ainsi que des multiples usages qui en sont faits dans le milieu policier. Alors que de nombreuses institutions publiques à vocation sécuritaire prônent la transparence, l’intégration de cette nouvelle technologie numérique se fonde-t-elle sur des mécanismes majoritairement formels ou informels ? Basé sur des données qualitatives issues d’entretiens ainsi que d’observations de terrain auprès de la Police neuchâteloise (Suisse), cet article démontre que l’acquisition de systèmes de drones policiers relève d’un ensemble de processus interdépendants qui se complètent et résultent de nombreuses médiations sociotechniques conjuguant des mécanismes formels et informels. Du point de vue plus conceptuel, cet article met en lumière l’importance des mécanismes pratiques et relationnels entre des acteurs publics et privés ainsi qu’avec l’objet concerné. L’agencement dynamique de certains individus, de certaines idées et choses est dès lors identifié et étudié afin de brosser un portrait exploratoire des enjeux en matière d’informalité qui gravitent autour de l’acquisition de drones policiers.

No abstract