SGR has published five reports/ briefings focused on the military influence on science and technology. We have also published numerous articles and given many presentations. The main outputs are listed here, together with some of the media coverage. Further material on arms industry influence can be found on our Corporate influence on science pages, while all relevant material is indexed in the Security and disarmament section of this website.
Reports and briefings
Offensive Insecurity: The role of science and technology in UK security strategies
+ Addendum on UK nuclear weapons R&D spending
Stuart Parkinson, Barnaby Pace and Philip Webber; September 2013/ February 2014
Behind Closed Doors: Military influence, commercial pressures and the compromised university
Chris Langley, Stuart Parkinson and Philip Webber; June 2008
More Soldiers in the laboratory: the militarisation of science and technology - an update
Chris Langley, Stuart Parkinson and Philip Webber; August 2007
Scientists or soldiers? Career choice, ethics and the military
Chris Langley; January 2006
Soldiers in the laboratory: Military involvement in science and technology - and some alternatives
Chris Langley; editors: Stuart Parkinson and Philip Webber; January 2005
Main presentations
Military involvement at UK universities: a brief history
Stuart Parkinson; CRASSH seminar, Cambridge University (online); June 2024
Pro-war propaganda: are we doing it by accident?
Stuart Parkinson; Portsmouth University; April 2024
The military influence on UK science and technology
Stuart Parkinson; AOAV seminar, Birkbeck College, London; August 2023
The growing military involvement in UK universities - and the alternatives
Stuart Parkinson; CAAT Conference at the Gates (online); September 2021
Military involvement in UK universities: an update
Stuart Parkinson; London CND conference (online); January 2021
Rethinking security: a responsible science perspective
Philip Webber; Public meeting, Bath; June 2019
The militarisation of science and technology in the UK
Stuart Parkinson; Health Through Peace conference, York University; September 2017
Militarising academia: arms corporations and UK universities
Stuart Parkinson; SGR conference, London; November 2016
UK arms industry: ethical concerns and alternatives
Stuart Parkinson; National Justice and Peace conference, Derbyshire; July 2015
Military R&D: Is it helping or hindering our security?
Stuart Parkinson; Dept of Sociology seminar, Lancaster University; February 2014
From offensive insecurity to sustainable security: The role of science and technology
Stuart Parkinson; SGR conference, London; November 2013
UK military R&D: changing times
Stuart Parkinson; Side event at NPT PrepCon, Vienna, Austria; April 2012
Challenging military research and development in the UK
Stuart Parkinson; INES conference, Braunschweig, Germany; May 2011
Soldiers in the laboratory: the militarisation of the university
Chris Langley; Student Pugwash seminar, Cambridge University; March 2009
Military involvement in science and technology - and some alternatives
Chris Langley; European Parliament seminar, Brussels, Belgium; Nov 2007
UK military partnerships: the role of science and engineering in the national security agenda
Chris Langley; 'Science in the service of war and the responsibility of scientists' conference, Paris; September 2005
The military dimensions of science and technology
Stuart Parkinson; 'Engineering in Society' course, Lancaster University; May 2005
Soldiers or scientists - the role of science, engineering and technology
Chris Langley; Royal Institution debate, London; May 2005
Main articles etc
UK universities and the further development of killer robots
Nico Edwards, Responsible Science journal, June 2023
Militarising research: The dark side of Global Britain’s science agenda
Stuart Parkinson, Responsible Science journal, April 2022
Are UK universities being drawn into developing autonomous weapons?
Leyla Manthorpe Rizatepe, Responsible Science journal, October 2021
Brexit Britain’s security policy: cutting aid to spend on weapons
Stuart Parkinson, Responsible Science journal, May 2021
Irresponsible Science? How the fossil fuel and arms corporations finance professional engineering and science organisations
Stuart Parkinson, Responsible Science blog, October 2019
Lethal and autonomous: coming soon to a sky near you
Peter Burt, Responsible Science journal, June 2019
1000 researchers and scientists oppose the European Defence Fund
SGR media release, April 2019
EU moves into military science and technology
Stuart Parkinson, SGR Newsletter, February 2018
The political economy of military science
Chris Langley and Stuart Parkinson,
Chapter 14 of The Routledge Handbook of the Political Economy of Science, May 2017
Military-university collaborations in the UK – an update
Stuart Parkinson, INES report, April 2015
Nuclear weapons over wind turbines? UK R&D policies are warped
Stuart Parkinson, New Scientist, February 2014
Why engineers should lead calls to rebalance defence R&D priorities
Stuart Parkinson, Engineering and Technology, November 2013
UK military R&D is aggressive and counter-productive
Stuart Parkinson, The Guardian, September 2013
The decline of UK military R&D
Stuart Parkinson, SGR Newsletter, October 2012
Military-university collaborations – an update on the UK situation
Stuart Parkinson, 'Commit Universities to Peace' (booklet), INES, September 2012
If you ask me: Defence technology
Stuart Parkinson, Engineering and Technology, March 2011
Letter to David Cameron, regarding public science funding cuts and nuclear weapons research
Signed by 36 UK professors, October 2010
Military R&D 85 times larger than renewable energy R&D
Stuart Parkinson, INES Newsletter, April/May 2008
Universities, the military and the means of destruction in the United Kingdom
Chris Langley, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal (subscription only), January 2008
Science, engineering and technology - it's a military affair
Chris Langley, Physics Education (subscription only), November 2006
The real cost of military research
Stuart Parkinson, Education for Tomorrow, summer 2005
The best defence
Chris Langley, New Scientist, January 2005
Examples of media coverage
Scottish universities receive £34m in US Pentagon funding
The Scotsman, 20 May 2023
Will war in Ukraine mark a new era for European defence research?
Nature, 17 August 2022
Europe ramps up defense R&D
Science, 11 December 2020
Peaceful European Union starts to fund military research
Nature, 21 December 2016
Science group hits out at EU military research plan
ScienceBusiness, 2 November 2016
Boost nonviolent R&D, say defence experts
Research Fortnight, 2 October 2013
Military research should bear brunt of science cuts, say leading scientists
The Guardian, 13 October 2010
Scientists call for defence cuts
BBC News online, 13 October 2010
Soldiers in the Laboratory
Lab Times, 7 April 2009
Creeping influence of military sector at UK universities revealed
People & Planet news, 25 Jun 2008
UK universities in bed with the military
Nature, 18 June 2008
Military influence on research agenda growing, claims report
The Guardian, 12 June 2008
A call to arms
The Engineer, 22 August 2007
Science lobby urges UK to divert funds from military
Nature, 20 January 2005
Military science
The Guardian, 20 January 2005
