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1381. Biotechnology E-commerce: A Disruptive Challenge to Biological Arms Control

Author:
Raymond A. Zilinskas and Philippe Mauger
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Abstract:
Current approaches to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons rely heavily on the operation of export controls for equipment used in the production or dissemination of biological agents. Concerned that the emergence and growth of biotechnology e-commerce has significantly disrupted the effectiveness of such export controls, the British Commonwealth and Foreign Office funded a study in June 2014 for the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) titled “The Internet as a Source for Dual-Use Technologies of Biological Weapons Concern: Policy Implications and Governance Options,” to research the biological arms-control problems presented by biotechnology dual-use products and technologies sold via the Internet (e-commerce), and to determine how these problems could be addressed.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Science and Technology, Biological Weapons, and Biotechnology
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1382. The Case for Highly Enriched Uranium Free Zones

Author:
Andrew Bieniawski, Miles A. Pomper, and Elena Sokova
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Abstract:
Highly enriched uranium (HEU)—one of the key ingredients for nuclear weapons—is one of the most dangerous materials on the planet. Significant progress has been made over the past several years to eliminate all HEU from 26 countries and Taiwan. The creation of regional HEU-Free Zones would help cement a global norm against civilian HEU use in much the same way that Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones have strengthened global non-proliferation and disarmament efforts. In many cases, only one or two countries in each proposed regional HEU-Free Zone have small amounts of remaining HEU, presenting an opportunity for countries to take action prior to the Nuclear Security Summit in 2016. This concept paper was developed by a working group on “The Elimination of Highly Enriched Uranium in Civilian Applications,” a project of the Fissile Materials Working Group, a coalition of eighty civil society organizations committed to improving fissile materials security. Initial work on the concept was also funded by the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Science and Technology, Nonproliferation, and Uranium
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1383. Communications Surveilance in Colombia: The Chasm between Technological Capacity and the Legal Framework

Author:
Carlos Cortés Castillo and Celeste Kauffman
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Dejusticia
Abstract:
This book aims to examinate the colombian legal and jurisprudential framework related to the communication surveillance of today’s technologies. Phrased in the form of hypothesis, the purpose is to demonstrate how intelligence-related laws and jurisprudence fail to ensure that potentially affected rights remain intact.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, Communications, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:
Colombia and Latin America

1384. Amphibious Research: Action Research in a Multimedia World

Author:
César Rodríguez
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Dejusticia
Abstract:
Action research combines academic studies, participation in public debates, public policy advocay and the strengthening of institutions (for example, think tanks and nongovernmental organizations). This book explores the advantages and challenges of this type of work. Closely interacting with diverse audiences tends to give the action researcher greater empirical accuracy and relevance, and also serves as as source of motivation. Nevertheless, it can also lead to the risk of dispersion, lack of analytical distance and burnout.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Research, Academia, and Multimedia
Political Geography:
Latin America

1385. Future Directions in the DPRK’S Nuclear Weapons Program: Three Scenarios for 2020

Author:
David Albright
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Science and International Security
Abstract:
Like many secret nuclear weapons programs, the DPRK goes to great lengths to hide its capabilities to produce nuclear explosive materials and nuclear weapons. Despite these actions, a picture can be drawn of North Korea’s current and projected plutonium and weapons-grade uranium (WGU) stocks. Knowing these plutonium and WGU stocks can, in turn, allow an estimate of the DPRK’s current number of nuclear weapons and a range of projections of the number North Korea could build in the next several years. Although great uncertainty surrounds these projections, as well as the quality of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, these projections form a reasonable picture of the DPRK’s possible nuclear weapons futures, absent actions to significantly limit its nuclear programs. After summarizing estimates of stocks of separated plutonium and weapons-grade uranium as of the end of 2014, this report develops three projections of future nuclear arsenals through 2020: low-end, medium, and high-end nuclear futures. In developing these projections, which are intended to bound North Korea’s nuclear futures, a number of constraints are considered, including the number and size of nuclear production facilities, future underground testing, the extent and success of nuclear weaponization efforts, costs, and access to necessary goods and classified and proprietary technologies abroad.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Asia and North Korea

1386. Science and diplomacy after Canada’s lost decade: Counting the costs, looking beyond

Author:
Daryl Copeland
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:
In the twenty-first century, Canada’s security and prosperity - and the shared prospects for peace and development globally - depend increasingly on diplomacy rather than defence. In that regard, not least because there are no military solutions for the most pressing problems facing the planet, science diplomacy, and international science and technology more generally, have never mattered more. Yet rather than building a capability to join in collaborative efforts to find and deliver effective responses to complex global issues, under the Conservative Government key Canadian policy instruments were run down. Preoccupied with foreign wars, Islamist terrorism and related fear-inducing threats, Canada’s political decision-makers shunned science, disdained diplomacy and dismissed multilateralism. That record has diminished this country’s international reputation and influence while leaving the population vulnerable and exposed to a wide range of S&T-based threats. If Canada is to face the future with confidence, the new government must reallocate priorities and resources in support of science and diplomacy, and move immediately to address performance issues. Specific policy recommendations conclude this analysis.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Science and Technology, International Affairs, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

1387. The Causes of World War 3: Class, Geopolitics and Hegemony un the 21st Century - A Re-Reading of Arrighi, Through McDermott, Schumpeter and Veblen

Author:
Steven Colatrella
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This article investigates some of the reasons behind the events that led to a recent shift in international relations towards the global geopolitical and a renewed competition between the great powers. The aim is to point out important ideas of authors and put them to dialogue between each other. It calls attention to the possibility of an alternative political and economic bloc being built around China against a decline of US power. These points are deepened when it is identified other key features of the current system that involves the discussion about classes. The current configuration of class alliances and states involves the complex dynamics of the working classes in the Global South, the use of debt as a means of domination by the economic and financial world, as well as the new professional middle class - that give values to knowledge, technology and democracy. It is these relationships and their interface with the existing political power that permeate the revival of the global geopolitics, influencing not only current events, but also any possibility of thinking an alternative for governance and international framework - or even the failure of this and a consequent and possible new conflict worldwide.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Democracy, Geopolitics, Class, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:
Global South

1388. Restoring Trust between U.S. Companies and Their Government on Surveillance Issues

Author:
Mieke Eoyang and Chrissy Bishai
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
Allegations of intrusive U.S. government electronic surveillance activities have raised international outcry and created antagonism between U.S. technology companies and the government. Without a bold and enduring reform, American companies will continue to suffer a competitive disadvantage from perceptions of U.S. government intrusion into their data. We propose bringing electronic surveillance collection from U.S. companies into an existing statutory framework in order to reassure international customers and to respect the rights of U.S. companies operating abroad.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Surveillance, Big Tech, and Civil Liberties
Political Geography:
United States and North America

1389. The Authoritarian Resurgence: Forward to the Past in Russia

Author:
Lilia Shevtsova
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Democracy
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
The Russian system of personalized power has demonstrated the ability to reproduce itself by both imitating and containing the West. In its quest for survival, the system has used foreign policy to a) compensate for the Kremlin’s diminishing resources, and b) contain the West’s impact inside and outside of Russia. The Kremlin’s continued experiments with new “technology” to prolong the system’s life include not only repression but also information warfare, as is seen in the development of a pro-Kremlin lobbyist network in the West to support the left-right “International.”
Topic:
Science and Technology, Authoritarianism, Conflict, and Disinformation
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and North America

1390. The Africa Capacity Report ACR 2015: Capacity Imperatives for Domestic Resource Mobilization in Africa

Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The Africa Capacity Report (ACR) 2015 sends a very clear message: with official development assistance to Africa diminishing, the continent will have to rely more on mobilizing domestic resources if it is to implement its development agenda. The ACR 2015 shows that this is possible, with a good number of African countries providing practical success stories based on strategies and initiatives that can easily be adapted to other countries. However, the capacity gaps to generate savings and taxes from domestic resources and allocate them to economically and socially productive activities remain glaring.
Topic:
Development, Science and Technology, Natural Resources, Capacity, Innovation, and Human Resources
Political Geography:
Africa