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The military innovation system that emerged in the West during the Cold War, is now subject to a process of change that will fundamentally alter its relationship with its environment. The article discusses the main characteristics of this "closed" system, and analyzes the factors, both technological and strategic, that are leading to its transformation. The transition towards a more "open" system, in which the field of "defence and security policy" is no longer clearly bounded, will be long and complex, but will have important implications for the overall mode of knowledge generation and diffusion. ; El sistema de innovación militar que se configuró durante la Guerra Fría en los países occidentales se está viendo sujeto a un proceso de cambio que va a afectar de forma fundamental la relación con su entorno. El artículo presenta las principales características de este sistema que define como "cerrado", y analiza las razones, tanto tecnológicas como estratégicas, que impulsan un cambio de modelo. El proceso de transición hacia un sistema más abierto, en el que no existen fronteras claras que delimiten el ámbito de lo que se está empezando a definir como "política de defensa y seguridad" será largo y complejo, y afectará al modo de generación y transmisión de conocimiento en su conjunto.

15 pages ; [EN] The military innovation system that emerged in the West during the Cold War, is now subject to a process of change that will fundamentally alter its relationship with its environment. The article discusses the main characteristics of this "closed" system, and analyzes the factors, both technological and strategic, that are leading to its transformation. The transition towards a more "open" system, in which the field of "defence and security policy" is no longer clearly bounded, will be long and complex, but will have important implications for the overall mode of knowledge generation and diffusion. ; [ES] El sistema de innovación militar que se configuró durante la Guerra Fría en los países occidentales se está viendo sujeto a un proceso de cambio que va a afectar de forma fundamental la relación con su entorno. El artículo presenta las principales características de este sistema que define como "cerrado", y analiza las razones, tanto tecnológicas como estratégicas, que impulsan un cambio de modelo. El proceso de transición hacia un sistema más abierto, en el que no existen fronteras claras que delimiten el ámbito de lo que se está empezando a definir como "política de defensa y seguridad" será largo y complejo, y afectará al modo de generación y transmisión de conocimiento en su conjunto. ; Peer reviewed

The development of a common European defense policy based on the notion of dual use, defined as research & development that can be applied toward both civilian & military activities, is stressed. An overview of contemporary research on European security emphasizes problems with European definitions of research & development. It is argued that the adoption of a common foreign & security policy under the Maastricht Treaty has facilitated the European Commission's defense policy decision making. The Fifth Framework Program for Research & Technological Development is analyzed to demonstrate how EU policy has influenced European security & defense research. After illustrating that the aforementioned framework has failed to properly contemplate the implementation of a dual use agenda, multiple strategies for ensuring that dual use programs are integrated into future European security policy are offered. It is concluded that dual-use objectives will not be incorporated into European research & development until the EU establishes a coherent security policy. 14 References. J. W. Parker

Military technology is traditionally shrouded in secrecy. Even joint research between allies can be a marriage of convenience. But with the end of the Cold War and greater European integration, the technological landscape is changing, and a closer interface is emerging between military and civilian technologies. A worldwide stagnation in defence spending is accelerating the take‐up of commercial off‐the‐shelf technologies, while in the aerospace sector, the factors of safety and the environment are becoming at least as important as cost.