Scientists or soldiers? Career choice, ethics and the military

The document discusses the militarisation of science and technology in the UK and USA, highlighting the ethical dilemmas faced by professionals when working on projects that may support offensive force. It details the financial scale of military R&D and the increasing partnerships between universities and defence corporations. Finally, it suggests alternative career paths in peace-building, disarmament, and renewable energy.

• The UK is a major military power that maintains approximately two hundred nuclear weapons and has recently allocated £2 billion in taxpayers' funding for the expansion and refurbishment of the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).
• Global military expenditure exceeded US$1 trillion in 2004, with the UK ranking as the world's second largest spender. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) allocates only about 6% of its budget to conflict prevention.
• The UK spends approximately £2.5 billion annually on military research and development, which represents nearly one-third of all public R&D spending, making it the second largest spender in this area after the USA.
• There is an increasing trend of 'partnerships' and consortia between universities, government defence ministries, and military corporations. In 2004, 29 British universities were involved in four such consortia: Defence Technology Centres, Towers of Excellence, Defence Aerospace Research Partnerships, and University Technology Centres.
• Military work presents several ethical dilemmas, including the difficulty of distinguishing between defensive and offensive applications, the involvement of corporations in arms proliferation to governments with poor human rights records, and the potential for reduced openness and limited public scrutiny of research.
• Alternative career paths for scientists and engineers include working in disarmament, peace-building, and the development of cleaner energy technologies to mitigate climate change, as well as researching non-military landmine clearance methods.

APA

Langley, C. (2006). Scientists or soldiers? Career choice, ethics and the military. Scientists for Global Responsibility. https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-02/military_final.pdf

Chicago

Langley, Chris. Scientists or soldiers? Career choice, ethics and the military. Scientists for Global Responsibility, 2006. https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-02/military_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Langley |first1=Chris |title=Scientists or soldiers? Career choice, ethics and the military |publisher=Scientists for Global Responsibility |date=2006 |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-02/military_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{langley2006scientists, author = {Langley, Chris}, title = {{Scientists or soldiers? Career choice, ethics and the military}}, institution = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, year = {2006}, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-02/military_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }