The conference series, that started in 2019 in Darmstadt, hosted by PEASEC, and supported by CROSSING, IANUS, FONAS and the German Foundation for Peace Research will continue in 2021:

We are happy to invite you to SCIENCE · PEACE · SECURITY ’21, which will be held at RWTH Aachen University from September 8 to September 10, 2021.

Today’s international security environment is marked by the demise of the classical arms control architecture, the return of great power politics, and eroding trust among states. New developments in military and dual use technology as well as weapon modernization programmes add complexity to any effort towards peace and security. This interdisciplinary conference examines the impacts of new technologies. It seeks concepts on how a more resilient security environment can be achieved through scientific contributions and policy measures towards crisis resolution, risk assessments, confidence-building, and arms limitations. Nuclear, biological, chemical and space threats as well as developments in information technology such as cyber or artificial intelligence issues, and any other relevant technical fields will be examined.

Through a dialogue between academics, think tank scholars and the policy community, this conference aims at discussing results of on-going research. In particular, it aims at generating new interdisciplinary research questions and policy proposals that could address the most pressing challenges at the intersection of science, peace and security.

Examples of relevant fields include the natural and technical sciences, the social and legal sciences, and ethics. To foster an effective dialogue between these disciplines, interactive and open discussion formats focusing on cross-cutting issues of policy relevance will be at the centre of this conference.

If you are interested in further information, visit our website at http://sps21.fonas.org/ and register for the conference’s mailing list to stay up-to-date:
https://lists.rwth-aachen.de/postorius/lists/sps21.lists.rwth-aachen.de/

The conference is funded by the German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF), the Volkswagen Foundation (VWS) and the German Research Association for Science, Disarmament and International Security (FONAS).

The Programme Committee

Sibylle Bauer                   Director of Studies, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Anja Dahlmann              Head of Project, Intern. Panel on the Regulation of Autonomous Weapons, SWP, Berlin
Friederike Frieß              Senior Scientist, Institute of Safety and Risk Sciences, BOKU Vienna
Malte Göttsche              Junior Professor, Nuclear Verification and Disarmament, RWTH Aachen University
Filippa Lentzos               Sen. Research Fellow, Depts. Global Health & Social Medic., War Studies, King’s College London
Götz Neuneck                 Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, Hamburg
Irmgard Niemeyer         Unit Head, Nuclear Safeguards and Security, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Christian Reuter             Professor, Science and Technology for Peace and Security, TU Darmstadt
Thea Riebe                      Research Associate, Science and Technology for Peace and Security, TU Darmstadt
Jantje Silomon                Researcher, Arms Control & Emerging Technologies, IFSH, Hamburg

SCIENCE · PEACE · SECURITY ’21: The impact of new technologies: Between destabilization and enabling resilience