| SGR: Responsible Science

Military influence project: Main outputs

SGR has published five reports focused on the military influence on science and technology. We have also published numerous articles and given many presentations.

Below, the reports are listed first, followed by other outputs grouped by date.

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

2020-2025

Disciplining dissent: UK universities, the arms industry, and protest
Laura Shewan, Responsible Science; November 2025 (journal article)

The DSEI arms fair: notes from the front line
Laura Shewan; Responsible Science blog; October 2025 (blog)

Military involvement at UK universities: a brief history
Stuart Parkinson; CRASSH seminar, Cambridge University (online); June 2024 (presentation)

Pro-war propaganda: are we doing it by accident?
Stuart Parkinson; Portsmouth University; April 2024 (presentation)

The military influence on UK science and technology
Stuart Parkinson; AOAV seminar, Birkbeck College, London; August 2023 (presentation)

UK universities and the further development of killer robots
Nico Edwards; Responsible Science; June 2023 (journal article)

Militarising research: The dark side of Global Britain’s science agenda
Stuart Parkinson; Responsible Science; April 2022 (journal article)

Are UK universities being drawn into developing autonomous weapons?
Leyla Manthorpe Rizatepe; Responsible Science; October 2021 (journal article)

The growing military involvement in UK universities - and the alternatives
Stuart Parkinson; CAAT Conference at the Gates (online); September 2021 (presentation)

Brexit Britain’s security policy: cutting aid to spend on weapons
Stuart Parkinson; Responsible Science; May 2021 (journal article)

Military involvement in UK universities: an update
Stuart Parkinson; London CND conference (online); January 2021 (presentation)

2015-2019

Irresponsible Science? How the fossil fuel and arms corporations finance professional engineering and science organisations
Stuart Parkinson; Responsible Science blog; October 2019 (blog)

Rethinking security: a responsible science perspective
Philip Webber; Public meeting, Bath; June 2019 (presentation)

Lethal and autonomous: coming soon to a sky near you
Peter Burt; Responsible Science; June 2019 (journal article)

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 (journal article)

The militarisation of science and technology in the UK
Stuart Parkinson; 'Health Through Peace' conference, York University; September 2017 (presentation)

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

Militarising academia: arms corporations and UK universities
Stuart Parkinson; SGR conference, London; November 2016 (presentation)

UK arms industry: ethical concerns and alternatives
Stuart Parkinson; National Justice and Peace conference, Derbyshire; July 2015 (presentation)

Military-university collaborations in the UK – an update
Stuart Parkinson, INES report, April 2015 (short briefing)

2010-2014

Nuclear weapons over wind turbines? UK R&D policies are warped
Stuart Parkinson; New Scientist; February 2014 (magazine article)

Military R&D: Is it helping or hindering our security?
Stuart Parkinson; Dept of Sociology seminar, Lancaster University; February 2014 (presentation)

Why engineers should lead calls to rebalance defence R&D priorities
Stuart Parkinson; Engineering and Technology; November 2013 (magazine article)

From offensive insecurity to sustainable security: The role of science and technology
Stuart Parkinson; SGR conference, London; November 2013 (presentation)

UK military R&D is aggressive and counter-productive
Stuart Parkinson; The Guardian; September 2013 (newspaper article)

The decline of UK military R&D
Stuart Parkinson; SGR Newsletter; October 2012 (journal article)

Military-university collaborations – an update on the UK situation
Stuart Parkinson; 'Commit Universities to Peace', INES; September 2012 (booklet article)

UK military R&D: changing times
Stuart Parkinson; Side event at NPT PrepCon, Vienna, Austria; April 2012 (presentation)

Challenging military research and development in the UK
Stuart Parkinson; INES conference, Braunschweig, Germany; May 2011 (presentation)

If you ask me: Defence technology
Stuart Parkinson; Engineering and Technology; March 2011 (magazine article)

Letter to David Cameron, regarding public science funding cuts and nuclear weapons research
Signed by 36 UK professors; October 2010 (open letter)

pre-2010

Soldiers in the laboratory: the militarisation of the university
Chris Langley; Student Pugwash seminar, Cambridge University; March 2009 (presentation)

Military R&D 85 times larger than renewable energy R&D
Stuart Parkinson; INES Newsletter; April/May 2008 (magazine article)

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 (journal article)

Military involvement in science and technology - and some alternatives
Chris Langley; European Parliament seminar, Brussels, Belgium; Nov 2007 (presentation)

Science, engineering and technology - it's a military affair
Chris Langley; Physics Education [subscription only]; November 2006 (magazine article)

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 (presentation)

The real cost of military research
Stuart Parkinson; Education for Tomorrow; summer 2005 (journal article)

The military dimensions of science and technology
Stuart Parkinson; 'Engineering in Society' course, Lancaster University; May 2005 (presentation)

Soldiers or scientists - the role of science, engineering and technology
Chris Langley; Royal Institution debate, London; May 2005 (presentation)

The best defence
Chris Langley; New Scientist; January 2005 (magazine article)

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