This book examines the European governance of emerging security technologies.The emergence of technologies such as drones, autonomous robotics, artificial intelligence, cyber and biotechnologies has ...stimulated worldwide debates on their use, risks and benefits in both the civilian and the security-related fields. This volume examines the concept of ‘governance’ as an analytical framework and tool to investigate how new and emerging security technologies are governed in practice within the European Union (EU), emphasising the relational configurations among different state and non-state actors. With reference to European governance, it addresses the complex interplay of power relations, interests and framings surrounding the development of policies and strategies for the use of new security technologies. The work examines varied conceptual tools to shed light on the way diverse technologies are embedded in EU policy frameworks. Each contribution identifies actors involved in the governance of a specific technology sector, their multilevel institutional and corporate configurations, and the conflicting forces, values, ethical and legal concerns, as well as security imperatives and economic interests.This book will be of much interest to students of science and technology studies, security studies and EU policy.
In November 2022, the European Commission presented its Drone Strategy 2.0 with two main objectives: to build the European Union's (EU's) drone service market and to strengthen the Union's civil, ...security and defence industry capabilities and synergies. From the Commission's perspective, accelerating the integration of drones in Europe's airspace has the potential to enable progress on numerous policy objectives, such as the green transition, urban mobility, industrial renewal and cutting‐edge R&D in the civil–military domain. In this commentary, though, we argue that the Strategy is indicative of wider contemporary trends in EU policy‐making regarding cross‐cutting policy agendas, industry‐centred R&D ambitions and the identification and promotion of infrastructural goals enabling further civil–military co‐operation. These tendencies capture the growing importance of dual‐use technologies, both in society at large and in the security and military domains. This is particularly relevant in the current European context of growing military expenditure with the war in Ukraine.
Drones have been widely used by public authorities during the COVID‐19 pandemic for pandemic‐related problems. As an innovative tool with a wide range of potentialities, they have been deemed ...suitable for an exceptional situation marked by the persistence of social distance. Yet, the turn to new technology to solve complex problems is a political decision that has broad societal implications, especially in the context of declared states of emergency. In the article we argue that the extensive use of drones by national authorities during the COVID‐19 pandemic has generated a new socio‐technical assemblage of actors, technologies and practices. Building on the three main uses of drones as responses to specific pandemic‐related challenges (disinfection, delivery, and surveillance), we analyse the actors and the practices involved in this new socio‐technical assemblage. From the empirical material, we explore potential effects of drone uses on key issues such as the technology regulatory processes, public acceptance, and security and safety concerns.
As new technologies become more advanced, the epistemic gap between technology developers, on the one hand, and technology users and regulators, on the other hand, widens, bringing along societal implications that are increasingly unnoticed.
The recent developments in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) show a growing synergy between national, transnational and supranational ...levels where a wide range of actors cooperate.
Selon le traité sur l’UE, l’impulsion politique en matière de sécurité européenne vient du Conseil européen. L’article vise ainsi à comprendre comment la Commission européenne a réussi avec une série ...d’initiatives, notamment en matière de recherche, à se positionner dans le champ européen de sécurité et de défense, et à y jouer un rôle déterminant. L’analyse de la configuration des relations permet de démontrer qu’en faisant un usage habile de ses atouts et de ses ressources au nom de l’approche globale, la Commission produit des effets et renforce sa position dans le champ à l’interface des acteurs étatiques et non étatiques.
Selon le traité sur l’UE, l’impulsion politique en matière de sécurité européenne vient du Conseil européen. L’article vise ainsi à comprendre comment la Commission européenne a réussi avec une série ...d’initiatives, notamment en matière de recherche, à se positionner dans le champ européen de sécurité et de défense, et à y jouer un rôle déterminant. L’analyse de la configuration des relations permet de démontrer qu’en faisant un usage habile de ses atouts et de ses ressources au nom de l’approche globale, la Commission produit des effets et renforce sa position dans le champ à l’interface des acteurs étatiques et non étatiques.
According to the EU Treaty, the political impulses in EU security matters mostly come from the European Council. However, the article aims at understanding how the European Commission also has succeeded in taking position in the field of European security and defence, and in playing a determining role through a series of initiatives, notably in research matters. The examination of the configuration of relations tracks how the Commission indeed affects this field and reinforces its interface position among state and non-state actors through the strategic use of its assets and resources with reference to the Comprehensive Approach.
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