Politics and economics largely determine how scientific knowledge is applied to human health worl... more Politics and economics largely determine how scientific knowledge is applied to human health worldwide. Scientific and technological advances in wealthy countries made possible medical triumphs like smallpox eradication. The history of global health from colonial times raises important issues: who decides whether to treat health as a human right or as an investment in economic productivity, whether to organize national health services as “vertical” interventions against specific diseases or as “horizontal” services for all health needs, and whether member governments or financial backers are to determine World Health Organization priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic elicited enthusiastic international scientific collaboration but raised issues of vaccine nationalism. It illustrated the tension between national politics and global health, how health issues become entangled with big-power politics, and the difficulties in making policy, informing the public, and controlling misinformatio...
This study analyzes the science policies offive countries with free-market economies (the United ... more This study analyzes the science policies offive countries with free-market economies (the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America) that have successfully applied science and technology to increase their industrial competitiveness in world markets. The article describes the historical and cultural differences affecting how resources for pure and applied research have been organized and allocated, and it details the different ways in which government intervention is used to increase the contribution of research to technological competitiveness. It poses lessons for decision makers wanting to modify their own country's approach to science policy, especially those of the new market economies of Eastern Europe. Detailed descriptions of each country studied are given in appendixes.
Science and technology influence international affairs by many different mechanisms. Both create ... more Science and technology influence international affairs by many different mechanisms. Both create new issues, risks and uncertainties. Advances in science alert the international community to new issues and risks. New technological capabilities transform war, diplomacy, commerce, intelligence, and investment. This paper identifies six basic patterns by which advances in science and technology influence international relations: (1) as a juggernaut or escaped genie with rapid and wide-ranging ramifications for the international system; (2) as a game-changer and a conveyer of advantage and disadvantage to different actors in the international system; (3) as a source of risks, issues and problems that must be addressed and managed by the international community; (4) as key dimensions or enablers of international macro phenomena; (5) as instruments of foreign policy or sources of technical information for the management of an ongoing international regime; (6) as the subject of projects and institutions whose planning, design, implementation and management provide grist for the mill of international relations and diplomacy.
This chapter outlines the urgent, sustained, worldwide technological and institutional transforma... more This chapter outlines the urgent, sustained, worldwide technological and institutional transformations in energy, transportation, land use, buildings, urban systems, infrastructure, agriculture, and industry needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate disruption. These transformations involve government, business, financial, educational and research institutions, civil society, and the general public. They will be specific to each country and adjusted with experience. They will need public participation, understanding, and buy-in. They will require carbon charges sufficient to influence business and consumer decisions. This chapter reviews and assesses the many technologies needed to make these transformations possible. Coal-fired generating plants must be entirely phased out. Wind and solar energy must expand to meet the new demand for electricity from massively improved energy efficiency throughout the economy. Measures that could have been phased in smoothly an...
Gene drivers and geoengineering promise great benefits but involve large risks. Yet, no norms gov... more Gene drivers and geoengineering promise great benefits but involve large risks. Yet, no norms govern their use. Both have global effects but could be implemented by governments, private firms, or individuals. There will be commercial and moral pressures to develop and deploy them. Geoengineering would create negative emissions that could mitigate climate change. Except for bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration, even research and development on geoengineering would entail substantial environmental risks. Gene drivers would spread altered genes throughout a population, creating ecological risks for non-human organisms and permanently changing the genetic makeup of humanity. The scientific community has proposed principles to guide research and possible implementation of both technologies. Despite widespread agreement on general principles, fundamental disagreement remains between people favoring careful deployment, and those favoring moratoria or a complete ban. Binding trea...
Politics and economics largely determine how scientific knowledge is applied to human health worl... more Politics and economics largely determine how scientific knowledge is applied to human health worldwide. Scientific and technological advances in wealthy countries made possible medical triumphs like smallpox eradication. The history of global health from colonial times raises important issues: who decides whether to treat health as a human right or as an investment in economic productivity, whether to organize national health services as “vertical” interventions against specific diseases or as “horizontal” services for all health needs, and whether member governments or financial backers are to determine World Health Organization priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic elicited enthusiastic international scientific collaboration but raised issues of vaccine nationalism. It illustrated the tension between national politics and global health, how health issues become entangled with big-power politics, and the difficulties in making policy, informing the public, and controlling misinformatio...
This study analyzes the science policies offive countries with free-market economies (the United ... more This study analyzes the science policies offive countries with free-market economies (the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America) that have successfully applied science and technology to increase their industrial competitiveness in world markets. The article describes the historical and cultural differences affecting how resources for pure and applied research have been organized and allocated, and it details the different ways in which government intervention is used to increase the contribution of research to technological competitiveness. It poses lessons for decision makers wanting to modify their own country's approach to science policy, especially those of the new market economies of Eastern Europe. Detailed descriptions of each country studied are given in appendixes.
Science and technology influence international affairs by many different mechanisms. Both create ... more Science and technology influence international affairs by many different mechanisms. Both create new issues, risks and uncertainties. Advances in science alert the international community to new issues and risks. New technological capabilities transform war, diplomacy, commerce, intelligence, and investment. This paper identifies six basic patterns by which advances in science and technology influence international relations: (1) as a juggernaut or escaped genie with rapid and wide-ranging ramifications for the international system; (2) as a game-changer and a conveyer of advantage and disadvantage to different actors in the international system; (3) as a source of risks, issues and problems that must be addressed and managed by the international community; (4) as key dimensions or enablers of international macro phenomena; (5) as instruments of foreign policy or sources of technical information for the management of an ongoing international regime; (6) as the subject of projects and institutions whose planning, design, implementation and management provide grist for the mill of international relations and diplomacy.
This chapter outlines the urgent, sustained, worldwide technological and institutional transforma... more This chapter outlines the urgent, sustained, worldwide technological and institutional transformations in energy, transportation, land use, buildings, urban systems, infrastructure, agriculture, and industry needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate disruption. These transformations involve government, business, financial, educational and research institutions, civil society, and the general public. They will be specific to each country and adjusted with experience. They will need public participation, understanding, and buy-in. They will require carbon charges sufficient to influence business and consumer decisions. This chapter reviews and assesses the many technologies needed to make these transformations possible. Coal-fired generating plants must be entirely phased out. Wind and solar energy must expand to meet the new demand for electricity from massively improved energy efficiency throughout the economy. Measures that could have been phased in smoothly an...
Gene drivers and geoengineering promise great benefits but involve large risks. Yet, no norms gov... more Gene drivers and geoengineering promise great benefits but involve large risks. Yet, no norms govern their use. Both have global effects but could be implemented by governments, private firms, or individuals. There will be commercial and moral pressures to develop and deploy them. Geoengineering would create negative emissions that could mitigate climate change. Except for bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration, even research and development on geoengineering would entail substantial environmental risks. Gene drivers would spread altered genes throughout a population, creating ecological risks for non-human organisms and permanently changing the genetic makeup of humanity. The scientific community has proposed principles to guide research and possible implementation of both technologies. Despite widespread agreement on general principles, fundamental disagreement remains between people favoring careful deployment, and those favoring moratoria or a complete ban. Binding trea...
The Survival Nexus: Science, Technology and World Affairs, 2022
The Survival Nexus: Science, Technology and World Affairs has just been published by Oxford Unive... more The Survival Nexus: Science, Technology and World Affairs has just been published by Oxford University Press. It explores the interweaving of science and technology with international politics, economics, business, law, and psychology as it affects climate change, nuclear weapons, pandemics, global health, Internet governance, cybersecurity, poverty, manufacturing employment, and gene drivers. It is intended for both general and academic audience, and explains key scientific, technological, political and economic concepts.
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Papers by Charles Weiss