Thesis (Ph. D.)--RAND Graduate School, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 1999. / Title from title screen (viewed Jan. 4, 2006). "June 1999." Includes bibliographical references (p. 101). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--RAND Graduate School, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

This paper focuses on that less researched area of the emergence of autonomous weapons systems. The point of this thesis is to research and map out this relatively under researched area, with the goal of answering research questions, and ending the thesis with an attempt at creating a hypothesis based on the conducted research. This is done by applying an inductive qualitative study, a normative framework, in terms of the doctrine of necessity, as well as analysing primary and some secondary sources by applying a normative, interdisciplinary approach with a hermeneutic analysis. One could most definitely argue that this research area is rather under researched, with a few exemptions, which is why this specific topic was worth choosing. The main findings of the conducted research were that there are many questions surrounding the topic of autonomous weapons systems usage. Although, perhaps the main question that needs to be answered before any other questions can have a substantial meaning, is the question of the level of autonomy that these weapons systems will possess.

The objective of this research was to develop a framework whereby the United States Naval Surface Forces could be provided with better information to determine their overall readiness capability. This study utilized the new Readiness Assessment and Reporting Standard (S9410-AN-STD-010/AEGIS) as a guide. Also, a System Design Methodology was used as a tool to develop mathematical models for generating the readiness capability for a particular system. The specific system selected for demonstrating this framework was the Gun Weapon System (GWS) being developed for the Arleigh Burke DDG-51 Class Destroyer.

Thesis (M.S. in Applied Physics)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): William Colson, Robert Armstead. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-68). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2006. / Title from title screen (viewed Aug. 29, 2008). "February 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-150). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Systems)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 1992. / Thesis Advisor: Nakagawa, Gordon. "March 1992." Description based on title screen as viewed on March 4, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66).

In this thesis, the role of Legal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) in the German institutional-political landscape is examined. The effort guiding the thesis is to uncover and understand how LAWS have been constructed in the German institutional-political discourse from 2017-2021. The field of LAWS is comparatively under-researched due to their recent emergence and highly contested spread as a weapon of choice. By trying to answer how securitization is taking place in German political-institutional debates surrounding LAWS, the aim is to better understand the different discursive elements of securitization in the specific German context. Building on the elements of defining the securitizing actor and referent subject, evaluating which discourse elements contribute and limit a securitization of LAWS and how suggested policy measures are tied to other discourses allows for a multileveled understanding of the issue at hand. What is clear is the need to further expand research in this field with the goal of contributing to the larger body of literature within Peace and Conflict Studies, detangling present discourses and suggesting potential policy paths. Finally, the conclusion drawn in this thesis suggests that both a technological discourse and discourse of threat of other actors contribute toward securitization of LAWS while a liberal economic discourse limits the securitization of LAWS.

Since 2009, International Relations scholars have researched the role of big advocacy groups in giving access to the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots in the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). To further these studies, the focus of this thesis is on the progress of negotiations for the 6-year period since the issue has been adopted, asking the question – How has the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots chosen to frame lethal autonomous weapons systems, and how successful has that framing been for the period of 2013 to 2019? I argue that advocates undertook a normative securitisation process to frame the existential threat lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) pose to human beings. This argument is supported by a dual method research approach of 1) semi-structured elite interviews; and 2) qualitative content analysis of reports. The findings of this research show that, while the advocacy group has not achieved success in the form of a legally binding agreement at the CCW, they have successfully developed a process of moral stigmatization of LAWS that contributes to the creation of a new humanitarian security regime.