This book was originally written as my doctoral thesis at the Australian National University. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Robert McLaughlin, Professor Hitoshi Nasu and Dr William Boothby, for their patience, guidance, support and advice.
I am also very grateful to my colleagues within the Australian Department of Defence, Military Legal Services. In particular, thank you to Air Commodore Patrick Keane for his generous support and to Colonel Penny Saultry and Wing Commander Julian Tattersall for their support, suggestions and feedback.
Thank you also to my colleagues at the University of Queensland’s Law and Future of War Team; Professor Rain Liivoja for his calm wisdom, guidance and insight; and Dr Lauren Sanders, Dr Simon McKenzie, Dr Eve Massingham and Dr Tim McFarland for their expertise, collegiate and generous support.
Many others have influenced my thinking and research, including Dr Vincent Boulanin from the Stockholm Institute for Peace Research, Ms Netta Goussac of Lexbridge Lawyers, Dr Natalia Jevglevskaja from the University of New South Wales, Dr S Kate Conroy from the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre.
Most importantly, thank you to my darling wife Lise and children Manning, Taran and Timothy, who have shared this journey with me. All of you are a constant source of support, motivation and inspiration.