Science for Peace and the need for Civil Clauses at universities and civilian research institutions
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: After the end of World War II, the commitment to confine scientific activities in universities and research institutions to peaceful and civilian purposes has entered, in the form of {\it Civil Clauses}, the charters of many research institutions and universities. In the wake of recent world events, the relevance and scope of such Civil Clauses has been questioned in reports issued by some governments and by the EU Commission, a development that opens the door to a possible blurring of the distinction between peaceful and military research. This paper documents the reflections stimulated by a panel discussion on this issue recently organized by the Science4Peace Forum. We review the adoptions of Civil Clauses in research organizations and institutions in various countries, present evidence of the challenges that are emerging to such Civil Clauses, and collect arguments in favour of maintaining the purely civilian and peaceful focus of public (non-military) research.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Altmann, J., Amaldi, U., Barone, M., Bassalat, A., Bona, M., Beullens, J., Brand, H., Brentjes, S., Britzger, D., Ellis, J., Franchoo, S., Giammanco, A., Glazov, A., Heck, C., Jung, H., Kraml, S., Lönnblad, L., Mangano, M., Renneberg, M., Riebe, Th., Sabio-Vera, A., Sanders, R., Scheffran, J., Schmelling, M., Schucker, T., Suzuki, T., Tanasijczuk, A., Tsakov, I., Valls-Gabaud, D., Walker, M.
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: UK Research and Innovation, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Innovate UK, Research England
OpenAlex ID: W4416048485