Controlling the Flow of Sensitive Knowledge in an Interconnected World (Standard Research Grant)

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IntroductionThe scope of the regulations controlling the circulation of sensitive but unclassified knowledge between the United States and other countries is of growing concern. This is especially so for researchers in academia and in industry. The ever-closer linkage between basic research and application in civilian/military dual-use technologies and the determination of foreign countries to exploit American scientific pre-eminence have brought International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) into the core of collaborative research with foreign nationals. Communities that prize scientific openness and regard it as the bedrock of American scientific and technological leadership and economic competitiveness are increasingly frustrated by ambiguities surrounding the interpretation of the regulations and the severe penalties for violating them. Intellectual MeritThis project will trace the history of the debate between scientific openness and national security that began in the 1980s, primarily using reports produced by the National Academies, Congressional Reports (such as the Cox Report), studies by the Congressional Research Service, and supporting materials. This historical study will be supplemented by an empirical study of the day-to-day implementation of ITAR using in-depth interviews with senior researchers, and administrative and legal personnel, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Policy conclusions will be drawn from the experience of those who conduct their research in this regulatory framework. The project will throw new light on the mechanisms that regulate the circulation of knowledge in a global, interconnected world. It will identify the changing circumstances that define cutting-edge science and technology that is both unclassified and subject to regulation. It demands that we expand the meaning of "technology transfer" to accommodate the exchange of knowledge in face-to-face encounters between American researchers and foreign nationals in a laboratory setting.Potential Broader ImpactsThe results will be of interest to historians of science and technology, and to stakeholders involved in implementing ITAR. They should stimulate public debate on how best to balance the freedom of inquiry with the needs of national security.