This year’s interdisciplinary conference “Science Peace Security” focuses on scientific and technical peace research. Titled “Technology and the Transformations of Political Violence”, up to 100 scientists discuss the current and future challenges of technical peace and conflict research from September 20 to 22, 2023 at the Technical University Darmstadt.
Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg-Haus, Dieburger Str. 241, 64287
The interdisciplinary conference, organized by TraCe in cooperation with by FONAS, examines the impact, control and design of technologies which influence peace and security. Existing approaches towards arms control need to adapt to the changing security landscape, while new civilian and military technologies are changing forms of violence and warfare. Particularly striking areas are cyber warfare and the rapid development of unmanned weapons systems. Issues of nuclear disarmament, missile technology or space weaponry, as well as chemical and biological weapons, are gaining renewed urgency. In addition to the development of new weapons systems, information technology also plays a significant role in the oppression and digital surveillance of civilians during conflicts, and in policing urban space. Aiming to network under authoritarian actors, civil society is increasingly using social media as a resource to organize cyber protests and to fight for human rights. Apart from acute use in conflict-related contexts, many cases illustrate that technology is increasingly being used by different actors for conflict transformation and to promote peace, aiming to reduce (political) violence in the long term. Furthermore, the geopolitics of infrastructure, e.g., (renewable) energy and climate change is an urgent topic. Infrastructures are relevant in conflicts, can be manifestations of global injustice, strategic objects in armed conflicts as well as part of a peaceful conflict transformation. Thus, the conference seeks contributions which reflect on the geopolitics of infrastructure and their role. In general, all of these issues raise the question of the regulation and proliferation of security-relevant technologies as well as their design. These aspects influence who has access to certain technologies, who can benefit or faces risk by their use.
The interdisciplinary conference Science · Peace · Security '23 aims to facilitate fruitful discussions on current and future challenges in the field of technical peace and conflict research.
