Strategic Governance of Science and Technology Pathways to Security
Lead Research Organisation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Department Name: Department of International Development
Abstract
For most of the 20th century warfare was understood as something that happens between nation states. Most security technology was therefore developed for conventional warfare between States, with military technologies increasingly drawing on and contributing towards civilian technologies. recntly, however, new threats to security have emerged and organised violence is now often undertaken by irregular military units, insurgencies and non-state actors. As a result, the traditional way of thinking about security, and the technologies that were developed in the 20th century to support it, are increasingly out of date. Current security technologies and military doctrine are often ineffective at dealing with this new environment, and may be making people less secure.
At present our understanding of what 'security' is, and what appropriate technologies might support it, are in transition. This research project seeks to understand how technology shapes and is shaped by changing ways of thinking about security. On the one hand, emerging areas of science and technology have the potential to create a growing threat to individual, national and international security. As a result, the control of technology has risen up the security agenda. Governments have collectively attempted to reduce the risk they pose by controlling the development, diffusion and mis-application of technologies and scientific knowledge. This may influence the future direction of technical change, and hence the risks and benefits generated by technology. On the other hand, different and often conflicting ways of thinking about security have emerged. In the EU there is a focus on human security, while in the US security is defined by a War on Terror. In today's world Cold War thinking co-exists with Jihadist thinking. How powerful groups in society think about security will influence the development of technology, which may well reinforce particular conceptions of security, making them increasingly dominant even if they are increasingly inappropriate.
As technologies develop, and new opportunities and applications emerge, certain pathways of change are selected, while others are closed off. The focus of this project is on how technologies move along particular pathways to understand why and how certain pathways are opened up and closed down. The project will explore how different groups of people in society understand and influence those pathways, and how the direction of technical change changes the distribution of risks and rewards in society. When security is considered more broadly than just warfare between nations it becomes important to recognise that the vulnerabilities that people in the UK and the wider world are exposed to are distributed in complex and changing ways. This influences both how they benefit from technical change and also how they suffer the risks of technical change.
By building a detailed historical understanding of the development of technologies of security concern, namely synthetic biology, neuro-science, advanced robotics and big data, as well as geoenegineering and IEDs, the project will help policy makers understand their potential risks and also any positive opportunities they raise. These case studies will allow the project to understand how the vulnerabilities and benefits are distributed in society. This analysis will be used to improve understanding of what can be done to influence the direction of technical change. Recent reports have highlighted the difficulty of building an ability in Government to respond to changes in technology and the project will use advanced methods that can be used to build networks of experts who can provide advice on (a) the changing nature of risks, (b) the likely effectiveness of different policies, and (c) the strengths and weaknesses of different future policy options for different groups in society. As a result, the project will improve public policy.
At present our understanding of what 'security' is, and what appropriate technologies might support it, are in transition. This research project seeks to understand how technology shapes and is shaped by changing ways of thinking about security. On the one hand, emerging areas of science and technology have the potential to create a growing threat to individual, national and international security. As a result, the control of technology has risen up the security agenda. Governments have collectively attempted to reduce the risk they pose by controlling the development, diffusion and mis-application of technologies and scientific knowledge. This may influence the future direction of technical change, and hence the risks and benefits generated by technology. On the other hand, different and often conflicting ways of thinking about security have emerged. In the EU there is a focus on human security, while in the US security is defined by a War on Terror. In today's world Cold War thinking co-exists with Jihadist thinking. How powerful groups in society think about security will influence the development of technology, which may well reinforce particular conceptions of security, making them increasingly dominant even if they are increasingly inappropriate.
As technologies develop, and new opportunities and applications emerge, certain pathways of change are selected, while others are closed off. The focus of this project is on how technologies move along particular pathways to understand why and how certain pathways are opened up and closed down. The project will explore how different groups of people in society understand and influence those pathways, and how the direction of technical change changes the distribution of risks and rewards in society. When security is considered more broadly than just warfare between nations it becomes important to recognise that the vulnerabilities that people in the UK and the wider world are exposed to are distributed in complex and changing ways. This influences both how they benefit from technical change and also how they suffer the risks of technical change.
By building a detailed historical understanding of the development of technologies of security concern, namely synthetic biology, neuro-science, advanced robotics and big data, as well as geoenegineering and IEDs, the project will help policy makers understand their potential risks and also any positive opportunities they raise. These case studies will allow the project to understand how the vulnerabilities and benefits are distributed in society. This analysis will be used to improve understanding of what can be done to influence the direction of technical change. Recent reports have highlighted the difficulty of building an ability in Government to respond to changes in technology and the project will use advanced methods that can be used to build networks of experts who can provide advice on (a) the changing nature of risks, (b) the likely effectiveness of different policies, and (c) the strengths and weaknesses of different future policy options for different groups in society. As a result, the project will improve public policy.
Planned Impact
The main beneficiaries of this research will be the international community involved in developing, implementing and enforcing governance measures for assessing and addressing the opportunities and threats that emerge from developments in science and technology. This community includes:
1) The UK Government which has historically taken a leading role in this policy area. In a previous pilot project we understood a user-needs analysis which highlighted how the UK and other Governments suffer from a lack of data that is regarded as objective, independent and legitimate by the different actors who need to be involved in policy making. The project will provide them with policy-friendly information on experts' perceptions of current and future threats and opportunities and areas of concern, perceptions of the various policy options that are available, and the social distribution of their strengths and weaknesses across different actors and framings. The project can exploit a coproduction research design that uses the development of simply presented user-focused research outputs, that directly address user needs, to both access more academic data and to build and nurture networks of expertise. These networks will then be used to both disseminate research to users outside academia, and provide future external advice for the UK government. Policy makers will be able to draw on these network of expertise as new threats and opportunities emerge, in line with the recommendations of the Blacklett report.
2) Other Governments working in this area.
3) We will continue to work closely with International Organisations, NGOs and civil society groups, building on our prior research in this area. These groups, such as the Royal Society and WHO, now play key roles in the formation and support of the distributed governance measures for science and technology. The research team has a long history of close engagement with this community, and they will be engaged throughout the project to ensure it addresses their most pressing problems.
4) Industry is a new security actor that plays a key role in ensuring the benefits of technical change can be realised. They have been poorly served by policy research in this area in the past. Because industry is a major user of the technologies concerned, (for example, synthetic biology and neuroscience for the development of pharmaceuticals, or advanced robotics for civilian unmanned aerospace), it has the potential to be adversely influenced by poorly designed public policy. While industry is involved in influencing government policy, it has limited engagement with alternative framings of security and different views on the potential costs and benefits of particular technology developments. By providing industry with a broader understanding of the direction of technical change, our aim is to open up and better engage industrial actors.
5) Civil society both in the UK and internationally will also be supported by this research as part of a long standing and widespread series of outreach activities that we have undertaken to embed social science research within the community.
For all these groups our impact plan proposes to help close the loop between research and practice through continued close interaction with wider research-user communities. The use of the co-production research method, that generates simple, policy focused outputs for users, and uses the process of research to access information to address academic questions, provides an independent, socially robust way of generating information on actors' perceptions and preferences. For all the actors involved this can be used to position themselves in networks, and to position their perceptions and experiences in relation to other actors. The policy-focused outputs can therefore act as 'boundary objects' allowing different social groups to interact, and build connections and position themselves within dynamic policy networks.
1) The UK Government which has historically taken a leading role in this policy area. In a previous pilot project we understood a user-needs analysis which highlighted how the UK and other Governments suffer from a lack of data that is regarded as objective, independent and legitimate by the different actors who need to be involved in policy making. The project will provide them with policy-friendly information on experts' perceptions of current and future threats and opportunities and areas of concern, perceptions of the various policy options that are available, and the social distribution of their strengths and weaknesses across different actors and framings. The project can exploit a coproduction research design that uses the development of simply presented user-focused research outputs, that directly address user needs, to both access more academic data and to build and nurture networks of expertise. These networks will then be used to both disseminate research to users outside academia, and provide future external advice for the UK government. Policy makers will be able to draw on these network of expertise as new threats and opportunities emerge, in line with the recommendations of the Blacklett report.
2) Other Governments working in this area.
3) We will continue to work closely with International Organisations, NGOs and civil society groups, building on our prior research in this area. These groups, such as the Royal Society and WHO, now play key roles in the formation and support of the distributed governance measures for science and technology. The research team has a long history of close engagement with this community, and they will be engaged throughout the project to ensure it addresses their most pressing problems.
4) Industry is a new security actor that plays a key role in ensuring the benefits of technical change can be realised. They have been poorly served by policy research in this area in the past. Because industry is a major user of the technologies concerned, (for example, synthetic biology and neuroscience for the development of pharmaceuticals, or advanced robotics for civilian unmanned aerospace), it has the potential to be adversely influenced by poorly designed public policy. While industry is involved in influencing government policy, it has limited engagement with alternative framings of security and different views on the potential costs and benefits of particular technology developments. By providing industry with a broader understanding of the direction of technical change, our aim is to open up and better engage industrial actors.
5) Civil society both in the UK and internationally will also be supported by this research as part of a long standing and widespread series of outreach activities that we have undertaken to embed social science research within the community.
For all these groups our impact plan proposes to help close the loop between research and practice through continued close interaction with wider research-user communities. The use of the co-production research method, that generates simple, policy focused outputs for users, and uses the process of research to access information to address academic questions, provides an independent, socially robust way of generating information on actors' perceptions and preferences. For all the actors involved this can be used to position themselves in networks, and to position their perceptions and experiences in relation to other actors. The policy-focused outputs can therefore act as 'boundary objects' allowing different social groups to interact, and build connections and position themselves within dynamic policy networks.
Publications
Kaldor M
(2015)
From Military to 'Security Interventions': An Alternative Approach to Contemporary Interventions
in Stability: International Journal of Security & Development
Kaldor M
Technology and Security
Kaldor, M.
(2018)
Global Security Cultures
Mary Kaldor
(2017)
Global Security Cultures
MCLEISH C
(2017)
Recasting the Threat of Chemical Terrorism in the EU: the Issue of Returnees from the Syrian Conflict
in European Journal of Risk Regulation
Revill J
(2015)
Absence in Science, Security and Policy
| Description | The project has developed the idea of competing 'security cultures' to describe specific combinations of objectives (national or human security, for example) and practices (such as people, organisations, tools, forms of communications) and explored the relationship between such security cultures and key technologies with implications for security. Four such cultures have been identified: first, Geo-Politics' represents the continuation of Cold War thinking in relation to security and has as its objective national security, and the deployment of regular military forces so as to deter a future war against a peer competitor. Second, the concept of New Wars includes practices such as terrorism, insurgencies and sectarian conflict. Third, yet linked with New Wars, is the notion of a War on Terror, which has the objective of using military forces to deal with terrorism and a set of practices that involve intelligence agencies, private security contractors, drones and surveillance. Fourth, is the concept of Liberal Peace, something embodied in multilateral peacekeeping initiatives and humanitarian intervention. Each of these cultures is associated with a specific form of technological change; thus geo-politics is associated with baroque technological change, while new wars are characterised by what we are calling vernacular technological change. This multiple framing of cultures of security provides a useful lens with which to make sense of the implications of security relevant technologies and explore the different relationships that specific cultures have formed with different technologies. For example IEDs can be considered the paradigmatic weapon of New Wars. Such weapons are typically, although not exclusively, 'vernacular' technologies in the sense that New Wars actors opt for the simplest possible route to functional, effective IED development based on the available resources at their disposal. Drones, in contrast, can perhaps be regarded as the paradigmatic weapon of the War on Terror and we argue their use has the potential to generate self-perpetuating conflicts that reinforce the security culture associated with the War on Terror. Studies of the role of social media relating to Syrian human rights activism, Colombian police and reporting on the chemical attacks in al Ghouta show that its impact is profoundly ambiguous. On the one hand, it facilitates the work of human rights groups in documenting human rights abuses; on the other hand it offers easier routes for abusive governments to identify dissidents and promulgate disinformation. Finally studies of CBW suggest that the emergence of new wars and the War on Terror may increase the perceived utility of some CBW technologies, and could thereby undermine the taboo on the use of these technologies institutionalised in the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions. Beyond the case study specific findings the project raises important new research questions over the continued suitability of current approaches to the procurement of military technology in a dynamic and complex world in which security is disparately conceptualised. It argues that many existing approaches result from a) lock-in to outmoded assumptions as to the nature of security and insecurity which remain unduly influenced by the hangover of geopolitical Cold War thinking and b) related to the above procurement approaches which result in heavy investment in sophisticated technological systems which are ill-suited to addressing contemporary security challenges and asymmetrical conflicts thereby leaving an operational gap in the UK's security. |
| Exploitation Route | Several of the specific findings, conclusions and recommendations from case studies could be taken forward and the process of co-production of knowledge and interaction with policy makers and governmental experts has already led to fruitful discussions on how such findings could be advanced by academics or government agencies following these issues. In terms of case study specific findings, the CBW case study has opened up a rich vein of scholarship related to the concept of 'utilities' of CBW for different security cultures that could be taken further forward by academic researchers. The case study on IEDs, has already generated discussion on the use of methods of technological forecasting to anticipate radical innovations in IEDs something that could be explored further by experts in several fields. The social media case studies provide a pioneering and robust exploration of the way different security cultures have exploited social media and raises profound questions variously over the role of social media in building accountability and narrative construction and reconstruction. The generic findings provide a fertile ground for further exploration by academics and policy-makers. For academics working on security but also business and public management, the research paves the way for a critical and interdisciplinary assessment of military procurement models and the deconstruction of assumptions underpinning conventional thinking around security. These research outcomes will be taken forward further upon the publication of the project findings in lay summaries produced in national newspapers and the three books that have emerged from this project and are currently being finalised. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | The work involves a number of research strands looking at a number of different technologies. Determining precise impact and uses remains difficult however to provide some examples of activities that have stimulated further thinking: · Kaldor has been deeply involved in policy related activities building on this work including the PaCCS Science & Security Workshop where she chaired the breakout session on data, and her input into the European Union's consultation for the Global Review of Strategy. She will also be presenting some of the findings to the UK treasury in March.. · The whole team presented their work to Porton Down Dstl, which include a significant discussion on chemical and biological weapons. Which stimulated a lively debate on the future of CBW. In addition we have further impact activities planned for example Revill is planning to present his work on IEDs at an IED Experts Meeting of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended on 3 May 1996 (Amended Protocol II). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Title | Pilot study on the application of Q-Study to understand approaches to security. |
| Description | Q-method is a research technique which falls under a broad range of approaches identified as 'discourse analysis' and "attempts to understand how people construct understandings of the world". It has been argued to be a valuable means of eliciting an understanding of attitudes to different issues areas and in this project has been piloted for application in understanding different perspectives of security. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The method was seen as potentially useful in revealing different social perspectives on suitable case study technologies and, as the project proposal indicates, recognizing diverse counter factual options that are neglected as socio-technical systems become locked-in to possibly undesirable configurations. |
| URL | http://qmethod.org/about |
| Title | Use of SenseCams to document participant behavior |
| Description | As part of the case study on the use of social media in Colombia, Rieken asked participants in the Colombia police cadet training college to carry a SenseCam for three days, an method which provided thousands of images documenting continuously participant's behaviour. Such an approach allowed us to determine with a good degree of empirical accuracy and finegrain what the participants do. What objects and individuals they interact with, what places they visit and how much time they spend there. However what is even more important is that in an interview these images allowed the carrier of the device to explain the meaning of what they actually are doing and not only reconstruct what they think they have been doing. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The method meant that the researcher was exposed to an unusually complete account of the participants life from their perspective which allows him to discover and prompt the participant to explain elements of their activity that otherwise would have been unnoticed. |
| Description | Collaboration with Bath's BioChem2030 project |
| Organisation | University of Bath |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration with the ESRC/Dstl funded BioChem2030 project, University of Bath, Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies. This included presenting and participating in various meetings organised by Bath as well as the joint publication of two articles by James Revill (Sussex) and Brett Edwards (Bath) on a) Synthetic biology and b) acid violence. The latter under revision after positive review. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Presentation and participation in meetings. Publication: James Revill (Sussex) and Brett Edwards (Bath) (2015) "What Counts as the Hostile Use of Chemicals?", Rappert and Balmer [eds] Absence in Science, Security and Policy: From Research Agendas to Global Strategy. Palgrave. [1st phase review completed of this chapter] Publication: Brett Edwards (Bath) and James Revill (Sussex) "Attempts to identify and assess security challenges posed by synthetic biology in the context of the BTWC and CWC". [Under review] |
| Impact | ß Publication: James Revill (Sussex) and Brett Edwards (Bath) (2015) "What Counts as the Hostile Use of Chemicals?", Rappert and Balmer [eds] Absence in Science, Security and Policy: From Research Agendas to Global Strategy. Palgrave. [1st phase review completed of this chapter] ß Publication: Brett Edwards (Bath) and James Revill (Sussex) "Attempts to identify and assess security challenges posed by synthetic biology in the context of the BTWC and CWC". [Under review] |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Collaboration with Exeter |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Informal collaboration involving the presentation of a paper to the Symposium on Issues and Non-issues in Science and Medicine, 27-28 September 2013 and the development of a chapter on Acid Violence for the book emerging from Exeter's Dstl/ESRC funded project, co-authored with Brett Edwards (Bath) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Feedback on the book chapter and support in the process of publishing the book chapter. |
| Impact | Presentation: Seeing the wood for the trees: The (mis)framing threats and risks in relation to CBW Publication: James Revill (Sussex) and Brett Edwards (Bath) (2015) "What Counts as the Hostile Use of Chemicals?", Rappert and Balmer [eds] Absence in Science, Security and Policy: From Research Agendas to Global Strategy. Palgrave. [1st phase review completed of this chapter] |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Collaboration with HSP, SPRU project on Data Capture of Syria Chemical Weapons Allegations |
| Organisation | University of Sussex |
| Department | School of Business, Management and Economics Sussex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Discussion on the role of ICT in Syria led by Ali has helped inform the Data Capture of Syria Chemical Weapons Allegations |
| Collaborator Contribution | One of the papers under developments looks at The role of the Internet and social media in allegations of CW use in Syria. |
| Impact | See outputs draft paper on The role of the Internet and social media in allegations of CW use in Syria |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Project officer worked with the US National Academies in the preparation of a workshop report on understanding pathogenicity and the Biological Weapons Convention |
| Organisation | National Academy of Sciences |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Revill acted as Rapporteur for an international workshop on understanding pathogencity and its relationship to the Biological Weapons Convention which was hosted by the US National Academies. Revill contributed to the development of a workshop report on this topic, many aspects of which remains relevant to the development of the case study on chemical and biological weapons which is an important part of this project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributions made by your partners to this collaboration or partnership consisted of knowledge exchange in this informal collaborative activity and staff development through exposing more junior staff to policy discussions at the interface between science and security. |
| Impact | A National Academies workshop report co-authored by Revill will be published in December 2014. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | 53rd Munich Security Conference - speaker at Security 'Architecture': Managing Threats in an Urban Age |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The event included discussion by leading security experts, political decision-makers and experts from academia and civil society on increasingly complex urban security politics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.db.com/newsroom_news/2017/ghp/munich-security-conference-managing-threats-in-an-urban-ag... |
| Description | EU global strategy on foreign and security policy presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A formal presentation to the European External Action Service together with an informal presentation and discussion of the report "From Hybrid Peace to Second Generation Human Security: Rethinking EU Strategy towards Conflict", organised by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.securityintransition.org/publications/berlin-report-of-the-human-security-study-group/ |
| Description | ISA Conference 2017 - Participated in three panels across the conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Panels - Changing the Assumptions Behind Justice and Security Interventions in Conflict-Affected Contexts - Analyzing Change in World Politics - Power and Resistance in a Complex Globe |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.isanet.org/Conferences/Baltimore-2017 |
| Description | Kaldor and Vincent travel to Washington, US |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Multiple interviews with different actors and an exchange of views on issues related to military technologies helped shape thinking of participants and project staff alike. Series of engagement activities generated a number of subsequent calls for further information on project findings and future activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
| Description | Keynote address at the 'New Wars, Old Laws?' conference at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the conference hosted by Amsterdam Law Forum was to analyse and problematise the alleged challenges that arise for international law due to the changing nature of war. Prof. Mary Kaldor's keynote speech sparked a discussion Was asked to do an interview about contemporary war and peace situations address to a young global audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Lecture on 'The War on Terror and the marginalizing of human security discourses' at Norwegian Nobel Institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Prof Kaldor's lecture sparked a discussion afterwards. Expressed interest for more presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_gb/institute/ |
| Description | Participation and contribution to the final report of US National Academies meeting on Understanding Pathogenicity and biological weapons |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Revill participated in the workshop on Understanding Pathogenicity: A Workshop for the BWC Meeting of Experts, August 2014 and contributed to the final workshop report produced by the IAP Biosecurity Working Group which will be circulated in December 2014. During the discussion Revill was invited to elaborated on tacit knowledge issues in relation to biological weapons and was able to contribute to discussion with some of the lessons learned from the CBW case study. The workshop findings were elaborated upon as the Meeting of Experts to the BTWC which followed the workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.interacademies.net/File.aspx?id=25527 |
| Description | Participation at 50th Munich Security Conference 2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Professor Mary Kaldor participated in the 50th Munich Security Conference (MSC), one of the most important independent security policy conferences worldwide. It was an extraordinary opportunity to learn at first hand the thinking of some of the key people in the security world as well as to make contacts that can help our research (and impact) on security issues. Sessions at this year's conference included: dialogue between the Serbian and Kosovar Prime Ministers, chaired by Cathy Ashton; a panel discussion including the chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, Martin Indyk (Secretary Kerry's representative) and Tony Blair; a panel that included Vitali Klychko, the Ukranian boxer and leader of the democratic opposition as well as the Ukrainian foreign minister; a historic session with Henry Kissinger, Helmut Schmidt, Egon Bahr and Valerie Giscard d'Estaing; not to mention other sessions involving John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, the Iranian foreign minister, as well as the UN's negotiator on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. Expression of interest for her work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.securityconference.de/en/ |
| Description | Participation in concluding roundtable discussion on 'Future Directions for R2P' at 'NATO after Afghanistan' ESRC seminar series, Sandhurst |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Questions and Discussion Invitation to a roundtable at 2014 International Studies Association conference for panel: Managing Expectations: the R2P After Syria |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Participation in the UK Society of Biology meeting: Bioscience to bioweapons: how do we benefit from open dual-use research whilst avoiding misuse? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | questions triggered discussion and follow up interview for an article in the Biologist Participation in the meeting sparked a series of questions surrounding DIY biology for an article in The Biologists, in which Revill was quoted. Revill was also invited to become a Member of the Society of Biology (MSB). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | https://www.societyofbiology.org/policy/policy-events/policy-lates |
| Description | Presentation on Exeter ESRC/Dstl project on Seeing the wood for the trees: The (mis)framing threats and risks in relation to CBW |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The presentation sparked a discussion on what constitutes a chemical weapons and led to the development of a book chapter coproduced between Bath and LSE/SPRU. The chapter is yet to be published, however it raises important questions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://people.exeter.ac.uk/br201/Research/Bioweapons/Non/Symposium/index.htm |
| Description | Presentation to Spiez workshop on convergence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Dr Caitriona McLeish presented an NGO view on Convergence to Spiez CONVERGENCE, 6 - 9 October 2014, Spiez, Switzerland. Revill also participated at this event. The presentation raised a number of issues, such as the longstanding nature of convergence between chemistry and biology. McLeish's contribution is recorded in the workshop report which will be circulated to States Parties biological and chemical weapons conventions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.labor-spiez.ch/en/die/sc/index.htm |
| Description | Presentation to Wilton Park |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | At a Wilton Part meeting on Compliance with the BTWC, Revill presented on the topic of moving forward with compliance with the Biological weapons convention and linked to the chemical and biological weapons case study undertaken as part of this project. The presentation included a section on the changing nature of science since VEREX and drew attention to, inter alia, how States Parties are now faced with: New actors engaged in biology, including those from outside the traditional community of practice; New practices, such as the use of fully disposable bio-manufacturing processes, that can perhaps make non-compliance harder to detect; and New knowledge and means of access to information that could be employed to facilitate bio-weaponeering. But also new or improved technologies of detection and surveillance; the emergence of bioforensics and new knowledge and experience from past programs, which could be employed to inform evaluations of non compliance. Several participants asked for further information and aspects of the presentation are identifiable in the Wilton park report which has emerged from this meeting. This report is likely to be distributed further at the Meeting of States Parties in December. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/compliance-issues-in-the-btwc/ |
| Description | Presentation to the Climate Engineering Conference 2014 18-21 AUGUST, 2014 Berlin, GERMANY |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards Increased interest is issue of geoengineering as a security issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.ce-conference.org/ |
| Description | Presentation to the Peace and Conflict working group of the Young European Green Party |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The presentation sparked discussion as to the short and longer term implications of military technologies? Subsequent to the talk Vincent was contacted by participants requesting further information and updates on the project? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Presentation to the Royal Society (tacit knowledge) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Revill to present (in November) at the Royal Society meeting organised by Bath's BioChem2030 meeting on tacit knowledge. The objective of this presentation is to stimulate thinking around the complexity of scientific research and the role of tacit knowledge in activities related to chemical and biological weapons. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Presentation to the Third EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation in a panel on Reducing the Threat of Dual-Use Bio Technologies and Enhancing BTWC Compliance on biological disarmament with particular attention to the changing nature of biology and technical means of detecting or disguising bioweaponeering since 1994. Revills talked sparked a lively discussion including a constructive exchange with staff working in the US Department of State. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.iiss.org/en/events/eu%20conference/sections/eu-conference-2014-4706 |
| Description | Prof. Kaldor talks at 'Fit For Purpose', BBC Radio 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Mary Kaldor joins a panel at the Radio Four series 'Fit For Purpose' to discuss NATO and its future that sparked a discussion afterwards. N/A |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b044h9rd |
| Description | Professor Kaldor talks at BBC Newsnight |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Profesor Mary Kaldor appeared on Newsnight to discuss Britain's new aircraft carriers with the former First Sealord Admiral Lord West. She argued that this enormous and costly ship, supposed to fly the American F 35 Lightning strike fighter, which is not yet available and has run into huge problems bot technical and financial, is a typical example of what she calls a 'baroque' military technology. Her talk sparked a discussion. After talk she received positive emails about her approach. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Professor Mary Kaldor, speaker of Honour at 2014 OxPeace conference; No Wars? New Wars? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Sparked discussion afterwards. Was asked to present work at a seminar at Regent's park College |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/oxpeace-2014-no-wars-new-wars-peacemaking-new-contexts |
| Description | Project officer participates in a course on Emerging Military Technologies- New Normative Challenges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The conference provided an opportunity to interact with scholars from a wide variety of other disciplines and raises questions and ideas generated over the course of the project. Development of networks and broader interdisciplinary thinking on issues related to science and security. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.peaceconflictresearch.org/Activities/Emerging-Military-Technologies-New-Ethical-Challenge... |
| Description | Science and Security Policy workshop at The British Academy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop explored the ethical & legal challenges facing policy-makers & practitioners working in the defence & security sectors managing the development & application of new technological capabilities. Research by five academics into three subjects was drawn upon (Data, Drones and Social Media) in the context of changing threats and security cultures. Of particular interest to policy-makers and practitioners in Government (including the Armed Services, Law Enforcement, Security and Intelligence Agencies), Media, Industry and the Third Sector, Lawyers and Academics. The aim will be to produce a PaCCS Policy Briefing Note based on discussions, to be published later in 2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/policy-briefings/innovation-defence-security/# |
| Description | Science, Technology and Security conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of our case studies on information and communication technologies and on chemical and biological warfare technologies and discussion. We gathered information in order to turn the case studies into published articles and edited volumes. Participants were interested in our work, asked for further information and expressed interest in becoming involved in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Seminar SPRU (Sussex) on Improvised Explosive devices and innovation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The presentation was part of a series of seminars at SPRU and designed to elicit feedback ideas and on research activities. it sparked discussion afterwards. The engagement was as much to generate feedback and ideas for additional theoretical or other contributions from the STS community which could inform the development of the IED study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | presentation and participation in an international workshop Assessing the Security Implications of Genome Editing Technology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Revill served as rapporteur for parts of the meeting and presented the report back from two sessions as well as providing a wider contribution. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/events/calendar-of-events/single-event/assessing-the-security-i... |