PSI 2223 - Future War - Tech and Politics

Credits: 4
Technology is transforming the character of war. In this course, students will examine the interactions between scientific advancements in technology, warfare, and politics in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. A major aspect of the course will be examining how new weapons and other military technologies are conceptualized in response to military, political, and social problems, the stages of development and testing that they go through from blueprints to battlefield testing, and how their effectiveness is measured, evaluated, and refined throughout. The course will also address the impact of different weapons and military technology upon the character of military and political conflicts, the ethical dilemmas that they pose, and the efforts to create and enforce legal and ethical codes upon their possession and use. Some of the types of weapons and warfare covered will include cyber and information warfare; stealth weapons; drones; precision guided weapons; weapons of mass destruction; ballistic missile and anti-ballistic missile systems; and space militarization. With breakneck scientific advancements and social changes transforming how countries across the world arm and train their militaries, the need to better understand the links between new technologies, war, and politics in the modern world is greater than ever before.