Security and disarmament

SGR produces a range of resources on the issue of 'security and disarmament'. This covers military technologies, arms control and disarmament (esp. nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, ‘Missile Defense’, conventional weapons) - as well as alternative concepts of security, peace building and conflict prevention.

Scientists and engineers have a central role in the development of weapons and therefore share a special responsibilty to society. SGR's project work has investigated the extensive influence that the military has over science and technology.

European security research – it is time for change

Martina Weitsch, QCEA, shows how arms companies – including those from Israel – have obtained public EU research funds, despite military research being specifically excluded from the formal R&D framework.

Article from SGR Newsletter no. 40, autumn 2011 (published online 6 December 2011)
 

War in Libya – the role of the arms and oil industries

The UK and other NATO countries claim they took military action in Libya for humanitarian reasons. Stuart Parkinson, SGR, asks whether the situation was really that simple.

Article from SGR Newsletter no. 40, autumn 2011 (published online 26 October 2011)

 

Science and the military: A reply to Nature

Letter to Nature, 14 October 2011
 

The UK Arms Industry - Ethical issues and alternatives

Stuart Parkinson, SGR, looks at the UK arms industry: starting with ethical issues such as the international arms trade and influence over UK military and foreign policy, and then moving on to consider the potential for alternatives – including different approaches to international security and expansion of civilian employment.

Presentation given at the 33rd Annual Justice and Peace Conference at Swanwick, Derbyshire on 16 July 2011
 

Open letter to IAUP on military research at universities

Letter from the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) - co-signed by SGR - to the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), 10 June 2011
 

Challenging military research and development in the UK

Presentation by Stuart Parkinson, SGR, at INES conference, Braunschweig, Germany, 27 May 2011
 

Arms conversion in the UK

Presentation by Stuart Parkinson, SGR, at the 'Welfare or Warfare' public meeting, London, 12 April 2011

Part of a series of events marking the Global Day of Action on Military Spending
 

Arms conversion for a secure and sustainable society

Taking the conflict in Libya as a starting point, Stuart Parkinson, SGR, argues that a major shift in security and industrial strategies in the UK and other industrialised countries would bring about a more secure and sustainable world.

Presentation at Liverpool Hope University on 31 March 2011
 

If you ask me: Defence technology

Cuts dictated by the UK defence review give the opportunity to take a fresh look at how we deploy military technology.

Opinion article by Stuart Parkinson, SGR, in Engineering and Technology magazine, 14 March 2011
 

Beyond Trident: AWE prepares for the future

Peter Burt, Nuclear Information Service, examines the major redevelopment of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, and points out how new facilities could allow the UK to sidestep international controls on nuclear weapons development.

Article from SGR Newsletter no. 39, winter 2011 (published online 4 March 2011)