Becoming weapon: an opening call to arms

Abstract

How does a weapon become one? What are the materials, knowledges and affects implicated in a process of weaponisation? In what ways does a weapon wield its user? In an opening call to arms, this introduction to the special issue on ‘Becoming Weapon’ sets out the scope and ambition of a new research agenda for the study of weaponry in International Relations. After reviewing the existing literature on weapons and outlining its limitations, the article presents the special issue’s individual contributions, highlighting how each of them sheds new light on the constitution and efficacy of our most lethal apparatuses.