EW in Academia – Logical Fallacy or Self-evident?

The tremendous operational value of electronic warfare (EW) makes it reasonable to expect that all work in or even related to EW would be classified and restricted.  By contrast, academia is founded on open access to and sharing of information, making it appear that EW would be a singularly unsuitable field for an academic.  Furthermore, philosophical questions about whether academia should even consider military topics like EW arise in light of the fact that academia is supposed to promote the development of students and society, while the military appears to inherently entail death and destruction.  However, this presentation will argue that, far from being unsuitable as an academic topic, EW is actually an ideal topic for both the primary aspects of academia, education and research.

This presentation will draw on the presenter’s experience establishing and running an EW group at a university over slightly more than a decade to argue that EW is a suitable topic for academia.  Misconceptions about EW, the military, and academia – including much of the previous paragraph – will be addressed to show how things are not nearly as clear as they may seem at first glance.  Furthermore, a number of unique opportunities and benefits offered by EW for both the educational and research aspects of academia will be highlighted.  Ultimately, it is hoped that this presentation will allow academics to appreciate the unique opportunities EW offers them, and to help people working in EW to encourage academics who would otherwise have no interest in EW to consider the field.