Surreal illustration of technology maze with balanced scales of justice, symbolizing ethics in security research.

Decoding EU Security Research: Can Ethics Bridge the Gap Between Tech and Values?

Elliot Brynn in Politics & Policy June 2025 • 4 min read.

"Exploring the role of ethics in EU security projects and whether it can align technological advancements with societal values and critical security studies."

In our rapidly evolving world, technology and scientific innovation are at the forefront of progress. Yet, the ethical implications of these advancements are increasingly debated in news and political arenas. Terms like 'ethical responsibility' are now commonplace, highlighting our growing awareness of the need to align technological progress with moral considerations.

Critical scholars emphasize that security is tied to contested values and shapes our relationships with nature, others, and ourselves. Therefore, ethical questions are crucial when examining the conditions and impacts of security, especially in research and development.

The European Union invests heavily in security research through its Framework Programmes, aiming to protect its citizens. However, security technologies can have negative repercussions on human rights and civil liberties. To address this, EU-funded research now incorporates applied ethics, analyzing the normative implications of project activities.

Putting Critique to Work: Ethics in EU Security Research

Surreal illustration of technology maze with balanced scales of justice, symbolizing ethics in security research.

The integration of ethics into EU security research is seen as a way to provide normative guidance, recognizing the ambiguous nature of security and steering research in a desirable direction. Most importantly, it involves engaging stakeholders in security research, including policymakers, industry, technical researchers, and end-users. This engagement with diverse perspectives is essential for translating critique into practical action.

Applied ethics offers a way to address critical security studies' concerns by turning abstract considerations into tangible cooperation and placing normative questions within concrete contexts. By establishing a dialogue with technical partners and raising awareness of ethical stakes, applied ethics can help 'put critique to work'.

Establishing dialogue with technical partners to raise awareness of ethical considerations.
Providing input to technical components and processes to ensure ethical standards.
Developing best practice guidelines for project components to promote ethical conduct.
Creating evaluation schemes to assess and improve the ethical implications of project outcomes.

However, applied ethics faces challenges within EU security research projects due to organizational structures, conflicting agendas, and the risk of legitimizing problematic activities. The organizational structure of EU-funded research projects can hinder collaboration and create silos, limiting the impact of ethics work. Differing agendas and perspectives among stakeholders further complicate the integration of ethics, and there's a risk that ethics becomes a mere 'ethics approval' process rather than a critical corrective.

Navigating the Ethical Landscape of Security Research

The integration of ethics in EU security research offers both promises and challenges. It translates abstract ideas into concrete actions, connects with diverse communities, and fosters dialogue. However, it also faces organizational hurdles, conflicting agendas, and the risk of instrumentalization. Overcoming these challenges requires a commitment to openness, reflexivity, and ongoing debate. Only then can ethics truly bridge the gap between technological advancements and societal values, ensuring that security research serves the public good.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1177/0967010618809554, Alternate LINK

Title: Putting Critique To Work: Ethics In Eu Security Research

Subject: Political Science and International Relations

Journal: Security Dialogue

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Authors: Matthias Leese, Kristoffer Lidén, Blagovesta Nikolova

Published: 2018-11-19

Everything You Need To Know

How does EU security research balance citizen protection with potential impacts on human rights, and how are applied ethics used to navigate this balance?

EU security research aims to protect citizens but can potentially negatively affect human rights and civil liberties. To counter this, applied ethics are integrated into research to analyze the normative implications of project activities. This involves engaging stakeholders and addressing critical security studies' concerns. However, organizational structures, conflicting agendas, and instrumentalization present challenges to the actual practice of applied ethics within these projects.

What is the main objective of integrating ethics into EU security research projects, and who are the key stakeholders involved in this process?

The primary goal of incorporating ethics into EU security research is to provide normative guidance, acknowledging security's ambiguous nature, and guide research in a more desirable direction. This is achieved by involving stakeholders like policymakers, industry experts, technical researchers, and end-users. Applied ethics aims to transform abstract considerations into tangible cooperation and embed normative questions into specific project contexts.

What are the major obstacles that applied ethics faces within EU security research projects, and how can these be overcome?

Applied ethics encounters several challenges within EU security research. Organizational structures of EU-funded projects can lead to silos and hinder collaboration. Conflicting agendas among stakeholders and the risk of ethics becoming merely an 'ethics approval' process further complicate its effective integration. Overcoming these hurdles requires commitment to openness, reflexivity, and ongoing debate to align technology with societal values effectively.

What specific actions are taken to integrate applied ethics into EU security research projects?

The integration of applied ethics involves several key steps: first, establishing a dialogue with technical partners to raise awareness of ethical considerations. Second, providing input to technical components and processes to ensure ethical standards are upheld. Third, developing best practice guidelines for project components to promote ethical conduct. Finally, creating evaluation schemes to assess and improve the ethical implications of project outcomes.

According to critical security studies, how do values relate to security, and how does that understanding affect the role of ethics in EU security research?

Critical security studies highlight that security is fundamentally tied to contested values, influencing our relationship with nature, others, and ourselves. This perspective underscores the importance of ethical questions when examining the conditions and impacts of security, particularly in research and development. By acknowledging these deeper relationships, applied ethics can more effectively bridge the gap between technological advancements and broader societal values, ensuring security technologies are developed and implemented responsibly.