H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2010)
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H-Diplo | ISSF Roundtable, Volume I, No. 1 (2010) A production of H-Diplo with the journals Security Studies, International Security, Journal of Strategic Studies, and the International Studies Association's Security Studies Section (ISSS). http://www.h-net.org/~diplo/ISSF http://www.issforum.org Diane Labrosse and Thomas Maddux, H-Diplo/ISSF Editors George Fujii, H-Diplo/ISSF Web and Production Editor Commissioned for H-Diplo/ISSF by Robert Jervis, Columbia University H-Diplo | ISSF Roundtable on “Biology and Security” Roundtable Editors: Rose McDermott, Brown University and Peter K. Hatemi, University of Iowa. Stable URL: http://www.h-net.org/~diplo/ISSF/PDF/ISSF-Roundtable-1-1.pdf Contents Introduction by Rose McDermott and Peter K. Hatemi ................................................................... 1 Essay by William English, Duke University ............................................................................................. 6 Essay by Anthony C. Lopez Brown University ....................................................................................35 Essay by Rose McDermott, Brown University and Peter K. Hatemi, University of Iowa ....53 Essay by Michael Bang Petersen, Aarhus University .......................................................................57 Essay by Jonathan Renshon, Harvard University ..............................................................................64 Essay by Brad Verhulst, Stony Brook University ...............................................................................75 Copyright © 2010-2012 H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, H-Diplo, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the H-Diplo Editors at [email protected]. H-Diplo/ISS Roundtable Reviews, Vol. I, No. 1 (2010) Introduction by Rose McDermott and Peter K. Hatemi his roundtable broadly addresses the application of recent developments in biology, behavior genetics and neuroscience to topics in international relations and security T studies. Advances in the life sciences have been applied to topics in political science; most of those applications have been restricted to the realm of voting behavior and public opinion broadly construed1. However, several are directly related to topics of greater interest to International Relations scholars, such as strategic decision-making and morality. These contributions have proven enormously provocative and interesting, and have spawned entire new research agendas into the myriad ways in which biology may contribute to human political and social development and behavior. However, up until now, very little of this work has explicitly taken on problems and issues related to the topics that typically preoccupy IR scholars and done so in manner engaging those scholars. Such topics include conflict processes, the formation and maintenance of alliances, the dynamics of intra-group and inter-group aggression, the emergence of status hierarchies, and prospects for trade and cooperation. The reasons for this lack of integration seem obvious. Biological processes take place at a micro level, in the past, often too difficult to even be observed by the naked eye, while international relations topically occur on a much larger scale. Many find it too difficult to imagine, much less trace, the chain of cause and effect between then. But macro-level outcomes are due in part to micro-level activity. The implications of individual difference, founded in biological and genetic reality, exert their influence on behavior that in sum dramatically affects aggregate level international outcomes. Anyone who believes that Hitler provided a critical and unique catalyst to the cataclysm that became World War II cannot argue otherwise. But the processes by which biological differences can manifest effects on international relations have not been well, or systematically, thought out previously. This roundtable is designed to begin thinking about these issues in a more systematic way. In part, our goal is to provide a forum for discussion that departs a bit from the more traditional causal variables explored in international relations research, but still engages the central issues of concern. 1 Peter Hatemi et al., “The Genetics of Voting: An Australian Twin Study,” Behavior Genetics 37:3 (May 2007): 435-448. http://www.springerlink.com/content/q42q0l51557391n8/ ; Brad Verhulst, Peter K. Hatemi, and Nicholas G. Martin, “The nature of the relationship between personality traits and political attitudes,” Personality and Individual Differences In Press, Corrected Proof, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9F-4XWMGG5- 2/2/6fadb0c5ee898b7d773bffa99eb7fc4d. ; James H. Fowler and Darren Schreiber, “Biology, Politics, and the Emerging Science of Human Nature,” Science 322, no. 5903 (November 7, 2008): 912-914; Antoine Bechara et al., “Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy,” Science 275, no. 5304 (February 28, 1997): 1293-1295.http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/275/5304/1293; Yoel Inbar, David A. Pizarro, and Paul Bloom, “Conservatives are more easily disgusted than liberals,” Cognition & Emotion 23, no. 4 (2009): 714; http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a794011402&db=all ; Alan G. Sanfey et al., “The Neural Basis of Economic Decision-Making in the Ultimatum Game,” Science 300, no. 5626 (June 13, 2003): 1755-1758. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/300/5626/1755. 2 | Page H-Diplo/ISS Roundtable Reviews, Vol. I, No. 1 (2010) Many people argue that the world has changed since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. This may or may not be true from the perspective of international relations, but it is certainly true in terms of how we understand human behavior. The last decade has witnessed a veritable explosion in the kinds of technologies that are available to explore the foundations of human development, expression, and behavior. In addition to the near ubiquitous use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show which parts of the brain “light up” during a particular task, the study of human genetics has similarly made huge advances in the ability to ascertain, analyze, compare, understand, and interpret the meaning of individual variance in genetic structure across individuals. These technical developments hold tremendous implications for security concerns, particular in areas related to screening for terrorists. What if it were possible to discover particular biological screening mechanisms that would indicate that an individual was at greater risk for engaging in impulsive aggression? What if there were screening mechanisms that would help identify potential terrorists at a higher rate than random screening or behavioral profiling? What if advances in epidemiology allowed scholars to uncover parts of the world where the population structure appeared more vulnerable to threats and provocations? For better or worse, these possibilities now exist. These realities would change the nature of the security game for both domestic and international security experts alike by allowing us to more accurately model and monitor behavior. The implications for governance, democracy, protection of individual freedoms and rights are unknown. This could contribute not only to a safer society, but would be better for the strength and accuracy of our military as well; it could also require important global legislative change to protect individuals. If enemies can be more accurately separated from potential supporters, targeting could become more accurate, and prospects for blowback might diminish as well. We do not yet take a stand on biological profiling; rather, we encourage transparency and advocate for people to obtain more useful information about themselves, and their inherent strengths, weaknesses, vulnerabilities and resiliencies. While such opportunities may frighten some with their potential for misuse, such screening might also operate to help create more positive outcomes for many as well. If soldiers coming into the service could be screening for vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder, for example, and assigned to mission according to inherent strengths and weaknesses, it might be possible not only to reduce the number of suicides and other adverse outcomes, but to improve unit morale, cohesion, and performance as well, once people were placed in jobs that actually feel like the best fit with inherent characteristics. In addition, developing treatment programs more tailored to individual needs and vulnerabilities can improve recovery times and prospects as well. Biology is not destiny in any way; genetics cannot “determine” complex behavior independent of environmental interactions. However, we do suggest that recognition of the importance of basic endogenous factors should become part of the discourse in understanding what makes people believe and behave as they do in a wide variety of circumstances, including those pertaining to international relations, conflict, and combat. Biology needs to be part of how we deal with understanding the motives and mechanisms 3 | Page H-Diplo/ISS Roundtable Reviews, Vol. I, No. 1 (2010) of human action. The physical reality is simply part of who we are as humans, and like every other species on the planet, we are affected by our endocrinology and by our