This blog post uses the case of Brazil to reflect on how actors in the Global South now engage with drone technology. This technology has been employed across a series of areas where Brazilian stakeholders are involved or seek to become more involved, both at the domestic and international levels: from aiding the work of the police and military to supporting environmental and health agencies and contributing to agriculture, mining, energy production and construction activities.

Drones have been used by the Brazilian Armed Forces in the UN peacekeeping operation in Haiti. Credit: Joel Silva/ Folhapress
So far, the academic debate on drone development and deployment has been focused on actors in the Global North while countries, communities and individuals in the Global South are mostly portrayed as targets or as victims of drone interventions. Comparatively, little attention has been given to the increasing use of drones by Southern civil society, government and private sector actors. Discussions of drone proliferation tend to assume that the drone industry is a monolithic and geographically concentrated entity. While the drone industry is still dominated by major players from the United States and Israel, countries like Brazil are claiming a more proactive role, not only merely as consumers, but also as developers and exporters of drone technology.