Science and Technology in the Global Arena:

An Introduction to Science, Technology and International Affairs

Professor Charles WeissGeorgetown School of Foreign Service

SOME INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Overcoming Technophobia What is STIA and Why is it Important? What is STIA 305 About? STIA Works Both Ways

– Impact of Science & Technology on World Affairs

– Impact of World Affairs on Science and Technology

This course can NOT teach science or technology: That’s impossible in one or a few terms -- but it isn’t necessary, either:

Many Major Figures in Science Policy and Technology

Management were not Scientists or Engineers. But they Respected the Material and Mastered it When

They Needed to Do So.

Get into the Habit of Reading about Science

and Technology: It’s Fun! Scientific American Nature MIT Technology Review Science News Weekly Science Sections

– New York Times– Economist– Washington Post

For High-Tech Business– Business 2.0– Fast Company– Wired

On Television– NOVA– National Geographic– Discovery

Overcoming Technophobia

You’ve studied technical subjects before (guerrilla warfare, macro-economics, trade, ethnic conflict)

Don’t Panic: You Weren’t Scared of Science in High School.

Why Should You Be Now? STIA Will Give You Tools and Practice, and Will Help You Detect ‘Voodoo Science.’

What is STIA and

Why is it important?

Definition: STIA is the Study of the Mutual Impact of Science,

Technology, Economics, Politics and Culture in an

International Context

STIA Draws on Concepts from Natural Science Political Science Economics Philosophy Law Culture and Politics ‘Science, Technology and Society’

(STS: History, Sociology and Philosophy of Science)

At Georgetown, STIA Includes

Environment and Energy Security Growth and Development Global Health

These are All Inter-Related.Don’t ‘Stovepipe’ Your Interest

Environmental Health Environment and

Security Environment and Growth Energy and Growth Energy and Security

Energy and Business Energy and Development Health and Development Health and Security Development and Security Growth and Security

Foreign Affairs Generalists Need Science, Technology and STIA,

so that they can Recognize S&T-Intensive Issues Recognize Typical Patterns of Interaction of ST&IR Follow Scientific Arguments Consult Knowledgably with Experts Understand Technical Articles and Reports Assess Expert Evidence and Disagreements among

Experts

Generalists Deal with Many Technical Issues – e.g., Macroeconomics, Ethnic Conflict, Guerrilla War. Why not Science and Technology?

Yet Foreign Affairs Practitioners are Not Expected to have Even a Basic

Knowledge of Science and Technology.

S&T are Neglected in Academic Curricula– Present Company Excepted! (preach to the choir!)

Technophobia in The Foreign Affairs Establishment– The US State Department Appointed a Science

and Technology Adviser Only Ten Years Ago!– There are Still No Questions on Science in the

Foreign Service Examination!

Course Themes: What is STIA 305 About?

STIA 305 Provides a Framework for Understanding the Intersection of

Science, Technology and International Affairs (STIA)

How to Approach Policy or Management Issues Involving Science and Technology

How Science and Technology Relate To Each Other and To Everything Else

How to Address Issues of Equity, Sustainability and Philosophical Values Raised by the Advance of Scientific Knowledge and Technological Know-How

We Will Examine Issues from the Point of View of

Government Policy Business Strategy NGO Advocacy Citizen Awareness Research Ethics Americans and People from the Rest of the

World (and their Governments)

All Confront the Same Issues, but from Different Angles

What Do We Mean by Science and Technology?

Computers Hardware Progress Better Life Problems Materialism

Our Definitions

Science is Knowledge of the Natural World Achieved through the Scientific Method -- (or the Scientific Method Itself)

Technology is a Way of Solving a Practical Problem through Organized Technical Knowledge

Initial Preconceptions re Science and Technology

HOW DO WE VIEW SCIENCE?

A Source of Truth to Power? A Source of Bothersome Knowledge? A Cloudy Crystal Ball? A Threat to Received Wisdom? The Product of Power-Crazed Genius?

HOW DO WE VIEW TECHNOLOGY?

An Uncontrolled Juggernaut?

An Unbottled Genie? A Pandora’s Box The Product of

“Social Construction”? A Hobbled Giant?

The Enabler of Globalization, Proliferation and other ‘Macro’ Issues

A Tool of Foreign Policy? A Source of Power for the

Powerful? A Source of Opportunity

to the Neglected?

Broad Organizing Questions (cf. ‘Welcoming Remarks’)

What is the Scientific Process? How is it Influenced by Social, Economic, Political and Cultural Context?

How are Technology and its Impact Influenced by this Context?

How do Science and Technology Influence Each Other?

Are Science and Technology Subject to Human Control?

Should Government Encourage and Guide Scientific Research and Technological Development? Why? How?

How do Policy Makers and Managers Deal with Scientific Uncertainty and Technological Risk?

How Do We Address the Ethical and Philosophical Issues Raised by the Increase in Scientific Knowledge and Technological Know-How?

Science and Technology Raise More Specific Questions that are

Critical to International Affairs Are Humans Changing the Earth’s Climate? (YES) Can Terrorists Make a Nuclear Device? Can Iran?? Can New Energy Technology Relieve Oil Dependence

and Reduce Global Warming? Is an Influenza Pandemic a Real Danger and if so, Can

We Prevent It? Can the Internet Undermine Authoritarian

Governments? Can Information Technology Catch Terrorists without

Endangering Civil Liberties? Can Developing Countries Compete in the New

Globalized Knowledge Economy?

STIA Works Both Ways:

Science &Technology Affect International Affairs.

International Affairs Affect Science &Technology.

Science & Technology Affect Each Other -- That’s Why It’s Called Science, Technology AND (rather than IN) International Affairs!

Impact of S&T on World Affairs

Science and Technology Strongly Influenced Recent Major World Developments

US Profligacy, Plus the Rise of China and India [‘The Oiloholics’], Contributes to the Spike in Oil Prices and the Geopolitical Strength of Non-Democratic Regimes

Telecommunications and Computers Enable Financial Transfers to Dwarf Goods Flows

Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Threatens Catastrophe from Terrorists or Rogue States

Climate Issues Threaten the World Trade Regime AIDS and Other Epidemic Diseases Drive the

Demographic Future of Russia and Africa

Export of Service Jobs Revives Debate over Productivity, Competitiveness & Income Distribution

SARS Epidemic Hurt Asia & US Industries Dependent on Asian Suppliers; Is H1N1 or H5N1 Flu Next?

Internet Raises Issues of Control (Governance), Privacy and Civil Liberties. A Major Renegotiation Looms.

The Revolution in Military Technology Produces a Dramatic Victory in the Invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, but Can’t Control Either Country– Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Suicide Bombers, and

Truck Bombs – all Low-Tech Devices – Hold our High-Tech Military at Bay

Innovative, Mathematics-Based Technology for Slicing and Dicing Risk Brings about World Financial Crisis

Science and Technology Give Rise to Important Issues . . .

Should Poor Countries Have to Compensate Drug Companies for Intellectual Property Rights to HIV/AIDS Medicines?

Why Shouldn’t All Nations Have the Right to Nuclear Weapons?

Is China’s Coal Policy any of Our Business? Is Our Coal Policy any of China’s Business?

Should the World Health Organization Have the Right to Demand Statistics from Sovereign Nations on the Prevalence of Epidemic Disease?

Can the US Demand that China Allow Pro-Democracy Content on its Internet? Can the Cayman Islands Demand that the U.S. Allow On-Line Gambling?

. . . And to Some Interesting Puzzles

What Sets the Scene for a Technological Revolution?– Why, for Example, Did an Revolution in

Information Technology Take Off, but one in Alternative Energy (which is desperately needed) has not?

When Does a Scientific Consensus Lead to International Action?– The Damage to the Ozone Hole Seems to be Under

Control, but Global Warming is Not– Scientists Think that any Problems with Genetically

Modified Crops are Manageable, but the European Public is not Convinced

Conversely, World Affairs Have a Strong Impact on Science And Technology

Economic and Social Forces Influence the Advance of S&T,

Raising Important Ethical Issues Technology Responds Directly to Markets

– (and hence to policies, attitudes, habits or values that affect income distribution and markets)

– Most Technology is Commercialized by Businesses Environmentalists, Health & Security Students Take Note

Science Responds Indirectly to Economic and Social Forces: Why is there No Malaria Vaccine?– Research funds come from public or private sources– Researchers are influenced by society’s definition of

important problems, and other social values

The Impact of Science and Technology May be Missed because

they are Key Elements of Larger Phenomena

Environment Globalization Competitiveness Nuclear Proliferation Terrorism and Homeland Security Epidemic Disease Space Policy

So Science and Technology are Not Autonomous; They Respond to Social, Cultural, Economic, & Political ForcesEXAMPLES:

Energy Conservation Stem Cells Genetically Modified Crops Text Messaging Teaching of Evolution! Even the Atomic Bomb!

But the Impact of Technology, Once it has been Developed and Diffused,

May be Very Hard to Control:

viz., THE AUTOMOBILEviz., NUCLEAR WEAPONS

viz., THE WEB

Some of These are ‘Enabling’ Technologies, Some are Technologies Out of Control, and Some are Both

In Summary,

Science and Technology Affect International Affairs, and International Affairs Affect Science and Technology

Science and Technology Are Affected by a Variety of Social, Economic and Cultural Forces, and Raise Important Issues of Ethics and Values.

We’ll spend the Term Examining These and Other Themes.

Next Class: Dinosaurs and the Dynamic of Science

How a Scientific Hypothesis Becomes a Scientific Fact

DO THE READING –

and USE THE HAND-OUT

TO GUIDE YOUR

UNDERSTANDING.