Engineering Peace

Engineering Peace
Author: Garland H. Williams
Publisher: US Institute of Peace Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781929223572

In practically all the peacekeeping operations of the 1990s, a postconflict reconstruction gap of almost one year separates the end of military peacekeepers' mission of halting mass violence from the start of removing mines as well as rebuilding and repairing the host country's physical infrastructure: roads and bridges, public utilities, and buildings.In this timely work, Colonel Garland Williams analyzes the postconflict reconstruction gap in three case studies Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan and shows how military engineering brigades accompanying peacekeeping contingents can be put to use immediately after the conflict ends to restore vital infrastructure and social institutions. In the book's concluding chapter, Williams proposes changes in U.S. national security decision making to integrate military engineering brigades into postconflict reconstruction, thus making U.S. military officials less wary of mission creep and nation-building."

Engineering Peace and Justice

Engineering Peace and Justice
Author: P. Aarne Vesilind
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2010-10-17
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1848826745

Some years ago when I was chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering, a colleague introduced me to a visitor from Sandia Laboratories, perhaps the largest developer of armaments and weapons systems in the world. We had a nice visit, and as we chatted, the talk naturally centered on the visitor’s engineering work. It turned out that his job in recent years had been to develop a new acoustic triggering device for bombs. As he explained it, the problem with bombs was that the plunger triggering mechanism could fail if the bomb hit at an angle, and thus the explosives would not detonate. To get around this, he dev- oped an acoustic trigger that would detonate the explosives as soon as the bomb hit any solid surface, even at an angle. As he talked, I watched his face. His enthusiasm for his work was clearly e- dent, and his animated explanations of what they had developed at Sandia exuded pride and excitement. I thought about asking him what it felt like to have spent his engineering career designing better ways to kill people or to destroy property – the sole purpose of a bomb. I wondered how many people had been killed because this man had dev- oped a clever acoustic triggering device. But good sense and decorum prevailed and I did not ask him such questions. We parted as friends and in good spirits.

Engineering War and Peace in Modern Japan, 1868–1964

Engineering War and Peace in Modern Japan, 1868–1964
Author: Takashi Nishiyama
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1421412667

The role of engineering communities in taking Japan from a defeated war machine into a peacetime technology leader. Naval, aeronautic, and mechanical engineers played a powerful part in the military buildup of Japan in the early and mid-twentieth century. They belonged to a militaristic regime and embraced the importance of their role in it. Takashi Nishiyama examines the impact of war and peace on technological transformation during the twentieth century. He is the first to study the paradoxical and transformative power of Japan’s defeat in World War II through the lens of engineering. Nishiyama asks: How did authorities select and prepare young men to be engineers? How did Japan develop curricula adequate to the task (and from whom did the country borrow)? Under what conditions? What did the engineers think of the planes they built to support Kamikaze suicide missions? But his study ultimately concerns the remarkable transition these trained engineers made after total defeat in 1945. How could the engineers of war machines so quickly turn to peaceful construction projects such as designing the equipment necessary to manufacture consumer products? Most important, they developed new high-speed rail services, including the Shinkansen Bullet Train. What does this change tell us not only about Japan at war and then in peacetime but also about the malleability of engineering cultures? Nishiyama aims to counterbalance prevalent Eurocentric/Americentric views in the history of technology. Engineering War and Peace in Modern Japan, 1868–1964 sets the historical experience of one country’s technological transformation in a larger international framework by studying sources in six different languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. The result is a fascinating read for those interested in technology, East Asia, and international studies. Nishiyama's work offers lessons to policymakers interested in how a country can recover successfully after defeat.

Information Technology for Peace and Security

Information Technology for Peace and Security
Author: Christian Reuter
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2019-03-12
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3658256524

This book offers an introduction to Information Technology with regard to peace, conflict, and security research, a topic that it approaches from natural science, technical and computer science perspectives. Following an initial review of the fundamental roles of IT in connection with peace, conflict and security, the contributing authors address the rise of cyber conflicts via information warfare, cyber espionage, cyber defence and Darknets. The book subsequently explores recent examples of cyber warfare, including: • The Stuxnet attack on Iran’s uranium refining capability • The hacking of the German Federal Parliament’s internal communication system • The Wannacry malware campaign, which used software stolen from a US security agency to launch ransomware attacks worldwide The book then introduces readers to the concept of cyber peace, including a discussion of confidence and security-building measures. A section on Cyber Arms Control draws comparisons to global efforts to control chemical warfare, to reduce the risk of nuclear war, and to prevent the militarization of space. Additional topics include the security of critical information infrastructures, and cultural violence and peace in social media. The book concludes with an outlook on the future role of IT in peace and security. Information Technology for Peace and Security breaks new ground in a largely unexplored field of study, and offers a valuable asset for a broad readership including students, educators and working professionals in computer science, IT security, peace and conflict studies, and political science.

Engineering and Social Justice

Engineering and Social Justice
Author: Caroline Baillie
Publisher: Purdue University Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2012-01-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 161249157X

This book is aimed at engineering academics worldwide, who are attempting to bring social justice into their work and practice, or who would like to but don't know where to start. This is the first book dedicated specifically to University professionals on Engineering and Social Justice, an emerging and exciting area of research and practice. An international team of multidisciplinary authors share their insights and invite and inspire us to reformulate the way we work. Each chapter is based on research and yet presents the outcomes of scholarly studies in a user oriented style. We look at all three areas of an engineering academic's professional role: research, teaching and community engagement. Some of our team have created classes which help students think through their role as engineering practitioners in society. Others are focusing their research on outcomes that are socially just and for client groups who are marginalized and powerless. Yet others are consciously engaging local community groups and exploring ways in which the University might 'serve' communities at home and globally from a post-development perspective. We are additionally concerned with the student cohort and who has access to engineering studies. We take a broad social and ecological justice perspective to critique existing and explore alternative practices. This book is a handbook for any engineering academic, who wishes to develop engineering graduates as well as technologies and practices that are non-oppressive, equitable and engaged. It is also an essential reader for anyone studying in this interdisciplinary juncture of social science and engineering. Scholars using a critical theoretical lens on engineering practice and education, from Science and Technology Studies, History and Philosophy of Engineering, Engineering and Science Education will find this text invaluable.

Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration

Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration
Author: Patricia Shields
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2017-01-19
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319506463

This book examines the life and works of Jane Addams who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1931). Addams led an international women's peace movement and is noted for spearheading a first-of-its-kind international conference of women at The Hague during World War I. She helped to found the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom. She was also a prophetic peace theorist whose ideas were dismissed by her contemporaries. Her critics conflated her activism and ideas with attempts to undermine the war effort. Perhaps more important, her credibility was challenged by sexist views characterizing her as a “silly” old woman. Her omission as a pioneering, feminist, peace theorist is a contemporary problem. This book recovers and reintegrates Addams and her concept of “positive peace,” which has relevancy for UN peacekeeping operations and community policing. Addams began her public life as a leader of the U.S. progressive era (1890 - 1920) social reform movement. She combined theory and action through her settlement work in the, often contentious, immigrant communities of Chicago. These experiences were the springboard for her innovative theories of democracy and peace, which she advanced through extensive public speaking engagements, 11 books and hundreds of articles. While this book focuses on Addams as peace theorist and activist it also shows how her eclectic interests and feminine standpoint led to pioneering efforts in American pragmatism, sociology, public administration and social work. Each field, which traces its origin to this period, is actively recovering Addams’ contributions.

Engineering and War

Engineering and War
Author: Ethan Blue
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 107
Release: 2022-06-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3031021134

This book investigates the close connections between engineering and war, broadly understood, and the conceptual and structural barriers that face those who would seek to loosen those connections. It shows how military institutions and interests have long influenced engineering education, research, and practice and how they continue to shape the field in the present. The book also provides a generalized framework for responding to these influences useful to students and scholars of engineering, as well as reflective practitioners. The analysis draws on philosophy, history, critical theory, and technology studies to understand the connections between engineering and war and how they shape our very understandings of what engineering is and what it might be. After providing a review of diverse dimensions of engineering itself, the analysis shifts to different dimensions of the connections between engineering and war. First, it considers the ethics of war generally and then explores questions of integrity for engineering practitioners facing career decisions relating to war. Next, it considers the historical rise of the military-industrial-academic complex, especially from World War II to the present. Finally, it considers a range of responses to the militarization of engineering from those who seek to unsettle the status quo. Only by confronting the ethical, historical, and political consequences of engineering for warfare, this book argues, can engineering be sensibly reimagined.

Future Peace

Future Peace
Author: Robert H. Latiff
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0268201889

Future Peace urges extreme caution in the adoption of new weapons technology and is an impassioned plea for peace from an individual who spent decades preparing for war. Today’s militaries are increasingly reliant on highly networked autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and advanced weapons that were previously the domain of science fiction writers. In a world where these complex technologies clash with escalating international tensions, what can we do to decrease the chances of war? In Future Peace, the eagerly awaited sequel to Future War, Robert H. Latiff questions our overreliance on technology and examines the pressure-cooker scenario created by the growing animosity between the United States and its adversaries, our globally deployed and thinly stretched military, the capacity for advanced technology to catalyze violence, and the American public’s lack of familiarity with these topics. Future Peace describes the many provocations to violence and how technologies are abetting those urges, and it explores what can be done to mitigate not only dangerous human behaviors but also dangerous technical behaviors. Latiff concludes that peace is possible but will require intense, cooperative efforts on the part of technologists, military leaders, diplomats, politicians, and citizens. Future Peace amplifies some well-known ideas about how to address the issues, and provides far-, mid-, and short-term recommendations for actions that are necessary to reverse the apparent headlong rush into conflict. This compelling and timely book will captivate general readers, students, and scholars of global affairs, international security, arms control, and military ethics.

Fundamental Challenges to Global Peace and Security

Fundamental Challenges to Global Peace and Security
Author: Hoda Mahmoudi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2022-02-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 303079072X

This book challenges the current thinking and strategies in the field of global peace and security. It is clear that current global public and private institutions are inadequate for the challenges we face today. These challenges cut across borders and require a more coordinated and concerted effort to find workable solutions. This book therefore begins with the question of global leadership and works its way back to the interconnected dynamics of global modernity and conflict. It is divided into four parts, each addressing a fundamental challenge to global peace and security. By exploring how we break out of the current framework, in which we understand global activities and the distribution of resources, and this book provides new ways of understanding the material, cultural, political, and spiritual relations that form the basis of international society.