Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Brazil Space: Military Dependency And The Case Of The Geostationary Satellite Of Defense And Strategic Communications, Gills Vilar Lopes

Space and Defense

In Brazil, there has been no transition model of space capabilities promoted by the military sphere (especially the Brazilian Air Force) for nurturing the civil one (Brazilian Space Agency). Drawing upon official documents and legislation as primary sources, the case study of the Geostationary Satellite of Defense and Strategic Communications (SGDC) is analyzed in light of the space strategic sector. Main factors that impede the PEB are related to military-technological dependence and poor resource management, with draconian budget cuts and projects canceled before having achieved realistic milestones.

Attack On The Brain: Neurowars And Neurowarfare, Armin Krishnan

Space and Defense

Is neurotechnology leading nation-states toward a new domain of war? Neuroscience is on the verge of deciphering the human brain. As a result, brains will become a part of the battlefield against which attacks will be directed. As neuroscientist James Giordano argued: “the brain is the next battlespace.” It is foreseeable that this will have tremendous implications for warfare and could amount to a true military revolution in the sense of military historian Williamson Murray: it would completely change the characteristics of conflict, as well as transform state and society.

Editor's Note Volume 9 No. 1, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents Volume 9 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Front Matter Volume 9 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Mutual Emotional Labor As Method: Building Connections Of Care In Qualitative Research, Jill A. Fisher, Torin Monahan

The Qualitative Report

Emotional labor may be vital to the success of qualitative research studies, particularly longitudinal studies that depend on the maintenance of research relationships over time. Rather than being limited to the comportment of researchers toward their participants, however, we find that participants also actively engage in practices of emotional labor to manage researchers and guide research interactions. We document elements of such “mutual emotional labor” in the establishment of rapport, in crafting experiences of personalized therapeutic benefit from participating in interviews, and in efforts to navigate closure at the conclusion of research projects. We argue that by recognizing forms of …

Executive Order On The Safe, Secure, And Trustworthy Development And Use Of Artificial Intelligence, Joseph R. Biden

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Section 1. Purpose. Artificial intelligence (AI) holds extraordinary potential for both promise and peril. Responsible AI use has the potential to help solve urgent challenges while making our world more prosperous, productive, innovative, and secure. At the same time, irresponsible use could exacerbate societal harms such as fraud, discrimination, bias, and disinformation; displace and disempower workers; stifle competition; and pose risks to national security. Harnessing AI for good and realizing its myriad benefits requires mitigating its substantial risks. This endeavor demands a society-wide effort that includes government, the private sector, academia, and civil society.

My Administration places the highest urgency …

Notes For Contributors, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Cadet Voice: A Curious Trinity: War, Media, And Public Opinion, Laura Olson

Space and Defense

The following USAFA cadet Capstone project from spring 2017 won the Best Undergraduate Class Paper Award from the national Political Science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha. The article appears, below, as submitted, with allowances for Space & Defense formatting.

August, 2012- President Obama drew a “Red Line” on chemical weapons use in Syria. Just over a year later, a UN report confirmed Syrian chemical use. Two words, spoken by the most powerful man in the world, generated massive media coverage. Around the world, news outlets and people everywhere looked for Washington’s reaction. Words are powerful because of the narrative they …

Arms Control And Deterrence In The Age Of Cross-Domain Coercion, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

For deterrence, now, first seek arms control. The old relationship linking deterrence, defense, and arms control served U.S. policy makers for decades during the Cold War. It was manifest through the Spirit of Geneva (1955) and the Reykjavik Summit (1986). Much later, during the rise of cross-domain coercion and following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the same idea reemerged in NATO’s Warsaw Communique (2016).

Building Beyond Samba And Soccer: Why Brazil Ventured A Nuclear Program, Saint-Clair Lima Da Silva

Space and Defense

Contrary to conventional wisdom on Brazil as a case of nuclear proliferation, archival evidence indicates that, rather than geopolitical rivalry with Argentina, enduring desire for national autonomy—honor more than sword or shield—drove Brazil during the 1980s to master its own uranium enrichment cycle.

Communicating Cyber Consequences, Timothy Goines

Space and Defense

More consideration ought to be accorded “loud” cyber weapons for signaling resolve in 21st century deterrence contests.

“Deterrence is at times a necessary or useful instrument of foreign policy, but the correct and prudent use of deterrence strategy is by no means self-evident or easily determined in all circumstances.”

In their seminal text, Alexander L. George and Richard Smoke thoroughly examined the topic of deterrence, tracing its historical roots and conducting case studies on its use. The product of this intense study was a formula that encapsulates the essence of deterrence theory. “In its simplest form, deterrence is merely a …

China's Military Space Strategy: A Dialectical Materialism Perspective, Sam Rouleau

Space and Defense

China’s military space strategy accommodates in significant ways the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) ideological commitment to dialectical materialism. This Marxian commitment persists and manifests in China’s investment in space power despite the Party’s widely acknowledged development of state capitalism to guide China’s economy.

Editor's Note Volume 11 No. 1, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents Volume 11 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Front Matter Volume 11 No. 1, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Notes For Contributors, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Physics Of Wall Street: A Brief History Of Predicting The Unpredictable By James Owen Weatherall, Brian M. Kruchkow

Space and Defense

A USAFA graduate comments on predicting the unpredictable when surveying new spaces at the frontiers of defense policy.

James Owen Weatherall’s book about the robust interplay of Wall Street and physics is a captivating romp about select physicists as well as a lesson on how finance both succeeds and falls short when it applies mathematical models to predict economic behavior.1 Such a book is a surprising candidate for a review in Space and Defense. Yet the ideas Weatherall presents are innovative, and they offer a framework for thinking about the problems with which this journal is concerned. In fact, The …

Cadet Voice: Hypersonic Weapons' Effect On Stragetic Stability, Darren Sency

Space and Defense

Initial exploration of the relationship between new technologies and strategic stability finds that hypersonic weapons, regardless of which power deploys them, first, could raise the probability of nuclear war.

Managing Criminalized Power Structures: The Predominant Spoilers Of Peace Processes, Michael Dziedzic

Space and Defense

Criminalized Power Structures (CPS) exploit illicit wealth acquisition to usurp political power and constitute a leading source of obstruction when the international community intervenes in states struggling to emerge from civil conflict. Structures operating outside domestic or international law may constitute a crucial barrier or spoiler for UN and coalition peace operations. This held true in the post-Cold War interregnum before 9/11 and is likely to continue for stabilization operations, regardless of outcomes from enormous international security investments in Afghanistan and Iraq. By understanding the different types of spoilers acting across cases, the United States and partners in the international …