The Militarisation of Scientific Research in Europe

The danger of present trends are not only evident on the battlefields or in the corridors of political power

It can be safely said that thus far the Third Millennium has been characterised by the rise of militarism. Although the militarisation of democratic society was well underway for most of the 20th century, it has become more blatant now than ever before. In many ways, it raises the question of how much democracy is really left in the post-industrial nations of the west, if any at all. One just has to look at how the US has transformed itself into a hybrid of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World.

Yet it's a mistake to only view the US as representative of this shift. Elsewhere, similar changes have taken place, albeit not so obvious. This includes Europe, or more precisely, the member states of the European Union (EU).

The apparent realignment of European research objectives is a case in point. The European Commission (EC) has recently welcomed suggestions from the Greek Presidency that the EU should fund defence research projects, and has called for further debate on the issue.

Until now, the EU policy on research is that funds are strictly limited to civilian projects. Nikos Christodoulakis, the Greek Finance Minister, is the latest to advocate an end to this policy. Like many others, he argues that the commercial spin-off opportunities presented by military research are key to Europe achieving its goal of becoming the world's most competitive economy by 2010.

The EC Directorate for Research is of a similar opinion. A spokesperson for EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin welcomed the Greek minister's comments, and said that the Commission looks forward to further debate on the issue by member states and the European Council. "There is often a thin line between military research and civilian use, and it is worth considering the impact on competitiveness that commercial spin-offs could have," said the spokesperson.

An often cited example is that of the US, where high defence research spending has a visible impact on the national economy. Yet this would also entail a reallocation of government resources, which means restructuring the social welfare system according to the American model. For many, this in itself is reason enough to abandon the idea, for the US has one of the most antiquated social welfare systems in the developed world. It's highly unlikely that Europeans would be willing to trade in their system of social welfare in order to fund military research.

The EC, however, doesn't think that this will be a problem. It envisages two possible methods by which defence research could be included in Community activities. The first would be through the creation of a European defence research agency, along the lines of the US defence advanced research projects agency (DARPA), which would coordinate and allocate resources to joint EU projects. The second possible move would be to create a new EU research programme, similar to the current Framework Programmes for research and development, but with a military focus.

According to the Commission, the financial resources for either system could come from a new line in the EU budget, or an intergovernmental mechanism funded directly by member states. However, unless taxes are raised to include this new line in the EU budget, it's hard to see how this new research can be financed except by cost-cutting on existing programmes, some of which are already under severe financial strain.

So far, there are no plans to include defence projects within the existing structure of EU research framework programmes. The EC maintains that its role in the debate is merely that of an observer.

Nevertheless, the thought of including the military within the scope of European research is a worrying sign. By letting some European research to focus exclusively on military projects takes away time and resources from civilian areas, which is more likely to benefit society as a whole. And while there may be a few commercial spin-offs to military projects, there are many others which remain within the exclusive domain of the military.

There is also an ethical point to consider. Along the lines of the American model, publicly-funded military research carries with it the implication that international affairs is best accomplished with the sword and not the pen. Military research in no uncertain terms entails aiding an industry based on death and destruction.

At present, the faint hope is that the militarisation of society has not taken deep root in all parts of Europe. Indeed, any form of EU funding for defence projects will likely face opposition from some member states, especially militarily neutral countries such as Ireland, Sweden, Austria and Finland. Unfortunately, new members to the EU (i.e., the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe) are more likely to support EU funding for defence projects; since the end of the cold war, the region has been a bonanza for the arms industry, namely the US.

As Europe struggles to redefine its research priorities in the post-industrial era, it mustn't forget that what is still needed in the world of science and technology is more basic research. Although the financial support and political will for basic research has eroded over the years, it still remains the only type of research which can lead to true innovation and progress.

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