Editorial

In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in wars and conflicts worldwide. The death toll is rising rapidly, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East. In these wars, we are seeing growing military use of modern and emerging technologies. Indeed, technology may have the potential to fundamentally change the way wars are fought. At the same time, the notorious threat of weapons of mass destruction remains and is even increasing in some areas.

In order to fully understand the impact of technology on war and peace, research and knowledge from the natural and engineering sciences must be combined with insights from the social sciences. This is the task of the newly established Cluster for Natural and Technical Science Arms Control Research (CNTR) at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), in cooperation with the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Justus Liebig University of Gießen. Here, political scientists work hand in hand with biologists, chemists, physicists, mechanical engineers, and computer scientists. With the generous support the German Federal Foreign Office has provided for the CNTR, we are pleased to be able to present the first issue of the CNTR Monitor – Technology and Arms Control as its flagship product.

The Monitor, which will be published annually, not only provides assessments of international security risks posed by individual technologies and R&D activities, but will also highlight opportunities and challenges for political regulation. In addition, it will identify technical R&D that offers benefits for security, for example in monitoring compliance with arms control agreements.

This year’s focus is on dual use. Technologies that are used in the military sector are often initially and further developed in the civilian sector. In early R&D phases or in basic research, possible disruptive military applications are usually difficult to anticipate and are often an unintended consequence. This Monitor sheds light on these interrelations by accentuating several current technological trends and providing in-depth analyses.

When it comes to modern dual-use technology used in warfare, our focus is on artificial intelligence, drones, and additive manufacturing along with the security impact of these technologies and their use in current wars, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East. In the area of academic research, the most notable debates on dual use are within the life sciences, which are therefore also at the heart of this report.

We are confident that our CNTR Monitor will provide important background information for policymakers and practitioners, researchers and the interested public alike. We hope you will find the Monitor informative and that it will ultimately help enhance the dialogue between stakeholders, enabling them to work toward strengthening peace and security in these difficult times.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank PD Dr. Jürgen Altmann and Prof. Dr. Kathryn Nixdorff for their comprehensive and valuable review of earlier versions of the trend and analysis chapters.