Socially Responsible Innovation in Security: Critical Reflections

This book examines the possibility of socially responsible innovation in security, using an interdisciplinary approach.

Responsible innovation in security refers to a comprehensive approach that aims to integrate knowledge related to stakeholders operating at both the demand and the supply side of security – technologists, citizens, policymakers and ethicists. Security innovations can only be successful in the long term if all the social, ethical and ecological impacts, and threats and opportunities, both short term and long term, are assessed and prioritized alongside technical and commercial impacts.

The first part of this volume focuses on security technology innovation and its perception and acceptance by the public, while the second part delves deeper into the processes of decision-making and democratic control, raising questions about the ethical implications of security ruling.

This book will be of much interest to students of critical security studies, sociology, technology studies and IR in general.

J. Peter Burgess is Professor and Chair of Geopolitics of Risk at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, France, and Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Advanced Security Theory (CAST) at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Genserik Reniers is a Full Professor at the Engineering Management Department of the University of Antwerp in Belgium, and at the Safety and Security Science Section of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Koen Ponnet is an Assistant Professor at IMEC-MICT, Ghent University, Belgium.

Wim Hardyns is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Research on Criminal Policy (IRCP) in the Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, Belgium.

Wim Smit is a former army chaplain at the Belgian army, and the Director-General of Wereld Missie Hulp, a Flemish development organization.