CAPAS RESEARCH PROJECT - Nikita Chiu APOTECH - TECHNOLOGIES AND (POST)APOCALYPTIC SCENARIO PLANNING: A STUDY ON TRANSCULTURAL AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY PERCEPTIONS OF TECHNOLOGY ENGENDERED (POST)APOCALYPTIC SCENARIOS
Synthesizing insights from the fields of Technology and Operational History, Technology Management, and International Relations, ApoTech seeks to uncover and critically investigate the clashes between different cultures, sectors, and disciplines in constructing and/or perceiving technology engendered apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic (TEPA) scenarios. In the post-war years, the delicate nature of technology that could be both powerful and destructive prompted discussions on technologies-induced (post)apocalyptic scenario planning, particularly in arms control. This project seeks to I) identify the divergence of perceptions surrounding TEPA scenarios across cultures, disciplines, and sectors in the post-WWII era; and II) investigate how post-war policy-makers in the domain of disarmament confronted/reconciled these differences.
Through a comprehensive examination of UN virtual archives, memoirs, interviews, and statements of policy-makers and atomic survivors in the post-WWII era, ApoTech seeks to answer the following questions: 1. How do different fields and professions perceive the potential of (post)-apocalyptic scenarios brought by destructive technologies? What were the imaginaries/imageries that stakeholders (e.g. scientists, military professionals) invoked in policy discussions regarding the governance of technologies? (e.g. pro/cons in developing tactical nuclear weapons) 2. How were technology engendered (post)apocalyptic scenarios perceived in Europe, US, and Japan? 3. What role did (post)apocalyptic scenarios played in discussions of arms control and nuclear disarmament? How did decision-makers in this domain confront/ reconcile/ synthesize differences in the conceptions, imaginaries and/or imageries of TEPA scenarios?