Technological development, strategic freedom of action and decision autonomy: reflections from the South to think the Defense

Abstract

There is a trend in International Relations studying International Security issues to link the excellence of countries' strategic performance to the possession of technologically sophisticated weapon systems, and the higher the sophistication the greater the performance. In this line of thought, this strategic performance granted by the technological upgrade would provide the advantage for the victory of the war, that is, the greater the upgrade in sophistication, the greater the military advantage. Finally, this ability to win the war would guarantee the autonomy of the national political decision, that is, greater sophistication and greater political decision-making capacity. With this research, in the area of International Security, we intend to show that: A) these hypotheses are false and obey the logic of the world supply of armaments that needs to generate a demand to satisfy false needs; B) that these needs are generated by the ideological implantation of the "technological victory" mystique based on national technological development and a "metaphysics", as Wright Mills would say, of the inevitability of war; C) that the national technological development not only does not guarantee the freedom of strategic action that would guarantee the autonomy of the decision, but creates a strategic dependence that compromises the autonomy of the political decision. Finally, we will argue that the autonomy of decision depends more on the political engagement than on technological sophistication. We will show that the victories of contemporary wars depend more on commitment in the political articulation of strategy and doctrine with circumstances than on the mere employment of technological means applied to fighting. With these objectives, we will discuss the concepts of "technology", of "technique" in its application to military equipment, of "technological development", "strategic freedom of action" and "decision autonomy". (AU)