Struggles over epistemic capital: Complex governance objects and the making of lethal autonomous weapons systems

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Titel: Struggles over epistemic capital: Complex governance objects and the making of lethal autonomous weapons systems
Autoren: Frederik Carl Windfeld
Quelle: Contemporary Security Policy. :1-25
Verlagsinformationen: Informa UK Limited, 2025.
Publikationsjahr: 2025
Schlagwörter: Knowledge, Epistemic cultures, Arms control, Expertise, Global governance
Beschreibung: Published online: 29 April 2025 The regulation of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) has emerged as a salient and perplexing issue in global governance, especially in the UN GGE on LAWS. This article argues that contentions over defining and regulating LAWS extend beyond country positions. As LAWS are mobilised as a complex governance object, these disputes also stem from struggles over epistemic capital, where experts provide different interpretations of such systems’ component parts and functional properties. The article analyzes three epistemic domains—legal, technical, and military—in the academic debate over LAWS as proxies for the underlying codified capital that can be mobilized as a resource for epistemic power in the regulatory exercise. Each of the three domains offers a distinct rendering of LAWS, differing in emphasis, characterization, and assessment of regulatory prospects. The article highlights how the delineation of governance objects considered complex is a process which interpellates and reinforces epistemic authorities, thus generating political effects.
Publikationsart: Article
Dateibeschreibung: application/pdf
Sprache: English
ISSN: 1743-8764
1352-3260
DOI: 10.1080/13523260.2025.2496045
Zugangs-URL: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/92580
Rights: CC BY NC
Dokumentencode: edsair.doi.dedup.....931c7e3ab344be0d46bf1845e03f5586
Datenbank: OpenAIRE
Beschreibung
Abstract:Published online: 29 April 2025 The regulation of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) has emerged as a salient and perplexing issue in global governance, especially in the UN GGE on LAWS. This article argues that contentions over defining and regulating LAWS extend beyond country positions. As LAWS are mobilised as a complex governance object, these disputes also stem from struggles over epistemic capital, where experts provide different interpretations of such systems’ component parts and functional properties. The article analyzes three epistemic domains—legal, technical, and military—in the academic debate over LAWS as proxies for the underlying codified capital that can be mobilized as a resource for epistemic power in the regulatory exercise. Each of the three domains offers a distinct rendering of LAWS, differing in emphasis, characterization, and assessment of regulatory prospects. The article highlights how the delineation of governance objects considered complex is a process which interpellates and reinforces epistemic authorities, thus generating political effects.
ISSN:17438764
13523260
DOI:10.1080/13523260.2025.2496045