THE MILITARY-UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COMPLEX TARGETS AFRICA

The Minerva Research Initiative directs funds from the Pentagon to scholars, but there's no evidence that the results are useful to the military.The Pentagon launched the Minerva Research Initiative in 2008 as a DoD-sponsored, university-based social science research initiative that focuses on areas of strategic importance to the US national security policy. It is intended to identify and support basic social science research issues in need of attention and to integrate those research insights into the policy-making environment.Since the inception of the Minerva Research Initiative program, one of the principal interests of the Pentagon has been projects that respond to the impact of climate change on stability. In addition to conducting humanitarian relief operations-which have always relied heavily on the military and are certain to increase in the future-the Pentagon is convinced that the multiplier effect of climate change will also increase the demand for military intervention in crisis areas.It is not surprising, therefore, to see grants to projects for Africa and specific projects for the Sahel. Each spring, the DoD announces three-year grants that can be extended up to five years.