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190 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



would avoid World War III— or limit escalation and possible conse- 

 quences, should a major war seem to be threatened— the most advanced 

 technology would be employed by the highest officials in communica- 

 tions, command, and control. 



International security and peacekeeping have only begun to be studied 

 in the robust analytic and institutional traditions that have been charac- 

 teristic of past research and development on many other subjects. Yet the 

 shrewd use of advanced sensors was important in making possible cer- 

 tain temporary peace agreements in the Middle East. Other advanced 

 technologies — in transport and communications, for example — may 

 keep small conflicts from flaring into larger fights by allowing small 

 forces to contain larger ones for a short period while diplomats confer. 

 Yet what shall we do about reducing the arms trade in conventional wea- 

 pons, about controlling terrorism, and about dampening regional arms 

 races? Could any technologies be helpful in new ways of solving these 

 problems? Even if there were no technological "fixes" for such largely 

 political issues, the non-nuclear technologies of "conventional arms" 

 turn out to be very important for diplomats to master; and the Foreign 

 Service pays little attention to this (or any other) technical trend. 



In the category of East-West issues are compressed many topics that 

 relate to technology. For instance, debates about controls on the exports 

 of certain products usually involve the possible long-range military and 

 economic impacts of multiple uses of the technology embodied in equip- 

 ment that would be exported initially for one narrow purpose. The dif- 

 ficulties in dealing with classified technical information— and particular- 

 ly engineering data, rather than general scientific materials— pose major 

 problems for foreign policy debates on such exports. Another example of 

 how technology relates to East-West issues is the ability of major (and 

 lesser) powers to employ modern airlift capabilities to transport troops 

 across large distances and thus project the image of power as well as the 

 actual instruments of force. Historically deep-running strategic stakes 

 emerge at the interface between international technological trends and 

 East-West balances of military and economic forces. 



Similarly, North-South issues include an enormous range of topics 

 that almost always involve technology. Rarely, however, is technology 

 the most important variable. For example, the clamor for a "Code of 

 Conduct" governing multinational companies (MNCs) often encom- 

 passes demands for technology, but it is mainly the sheer economic 

 power of the MNCs that has produced the perceived need for such a 

 Code. Patent rights are debated internationally, because many LDCs 

 believe they have a "right" to essentially any technology anywhere. 



