Assistant Professor Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick has just published an insightful article at Mobilizing Ideas, an online publishing platform dedicated to “interdisciplinary perspectives on social movements, social change, and the public sphere.” In his latest contribution, Choi-Fitzpatrick explains the potential for drones to transform social movement dynamics. “The technology [drones] is perfectly positioned to monitor police/protestor interactions, to map crowd flows, the escalation of conflict, bystanders and counterprotest dynamics, and a host of other things that scholars and practitioners care about,” Choi-Fitzpatrick observes. At the same time, he notes, the use of drones also raises safety, privacy, and payload concerns. And then there is the question of government regulation. A number of countries have already passed or are considering legislation regulating or restricting the use of drones. “Civil society needs to get involved in the conversation, and to do so quickly,” says Choi-Fitzpatrick.