Project Camelot
Encyclopedia
Project Camelot was a social science research project
of the United States
Army
that started in 1964 and was cancelled after congressional hearings in 1965. The goal of the project was to assess the causes of conflict between national groups, to anticipate social breakdown and provide eventual solutions. The proposal caused much controversy among social scientist
s, many of whom voiced concerns that such a study was in conflict with their professional ethics.
Chile
was to be the test case for the project, but Claudio Bunster
was alerted almost immediately to its possible military nature when Johan Galtung
showed him a letter from the Special Operations Research Office (SORO) inviting him to a seminar to discuss the project in 1966 at the American University
in Washington DC. The seminar was actually held in the summer of 1965 but by then the initial exploratory mission to study the feasibility of running such a project was being phased out and the project itself was officially cancelled on July 8 1965..
The project's purpose was described by the army as follows:
, for its premise of a peaceful and harmonious society.
Hugo Nutini, a Chilean-born professor of Anthropology
, was a consultant in the conceptual stages of Project Camelot and he asked for permission from Soro to approach Chilean social scientists with the idea of conducting a study in their country. He first approached Claudio Bunster
. Bunster expressed his doubts to colleagues who then confronted Nutini. When Nutini was unable to deny that the project had US political and military finance and motivation, a letter to the editor
was sent to the Latin American Review of Sociology and the whole affair was exposed in the media. The US Defense Department came under mounting criticism, with critics claiming that the project was a violation of professional ethics
in the scientific world; this bad press led to the project's cancellation in 1965. There were also voices that social science research was an appropriate way to avoid cultural conflict. The latter was not a unique idea, as the US had recognized that much of the reason they went to war with Japan came from Japan attacking Pearl Harbor, and commissioned the anthropologist Ruth Benedict
to write a widely distributed book on Japanese society and beliefs.
of Washington DC. There was no organization as such as the project never got off the ground.
Applied research
Applied research is a form of systematic inquiry involving the practical application of science. It accesses and uses some part of the research communities' accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often state, business, or client driven purpose...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
that started in 1964 and was cancelled after congressional hearings in 1965. The goal of the project was to assess the causes of conflict between national groups, to anticipate social breakdown and provide eventual solutions. The proposal caused much controversy among social scientist
Social Scientist
Social Scientist is a New Delhi based journal in social sciences and humanities published since 1972....
s, many of whom voiced concerns that such a study was in conflict with their professional ethics.
Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
was to be the test case for the project, but Claudio Bunster
Claudio Bunster
Claudio Bunster Weitzman is a Chilean scientist.Bunster studied Sciences at the University of Chile , Santiago and received his Ph.D in Physics from Princeton University, U.S. in 1973. He remained at the university, at the Institute for Advanced Study and also at the University of Texas, until 1984...
was alerted almost immediately to its possible military nature when Johan Galtung
Johan Galtung
Johan Galtung is a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, serving as its Director until 1970, and established the Journal of Peace Research in 1964...
showed him a letter from the Special Operations Research Office (SORO) inviting him to a seminar to discuss the project in 1966 at the American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in Washington DC. The seminar was actually held in the summer of 1965 but by then the initial exploratory mission to study the feasibility of running such a project was being phased out and the project itself was officially cancelled on July 8 1965..
The project's purpose was described by the army as follows:
History
The origin of the name "Camelot" came from a book by T.H. White, The Once and Future KingThe Once and Future King
The Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941....
, for its premise of a peaceful and harmonious society.
Hugo Nutini, a Chilean-born professor of Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, was a consultant in the conceptual stages of Project Camelot and he asked for permission from Soro to approach Chilean social scientists with the idea of conducting a study in their country. He first approached Claudio Bunster
Claudio Bunster
Claudio Bunster Weitzman is a Chilean scientist.Bunster studied Sciences at the University of Chile , Santiago and received his Ph.D in Physics from Princeton University, U.S. in 1973. He remained at the university, at the Institute for Advanced Study and also at the University of Texas, until 1984...
. Bunster expressed his doubts to colleagues who then confronted Nutini. When Nutini was unable to deny that the project had US political and military finance and motivation, a letter to the editor
Letter to the editor
A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...
was sent to the Latin American Review of Sociology and the whole affair was exposed in the media. The US Defense Department came under mounting criticism, with critics claiming that the project was a violation of professional ethics
Professional ethics
Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behaviour expected of professionals.- Professional ethics :Professional people and those working in acknowledged professions exercise specialist knowledge and skill...
in the scientific world; this bad press led to the project's cancellation in 1965. There were also voices that social science research was an appropriate way to avoid cultural conflict. The latter was not a unique idea, as the US had recognized that much of the reason they went to war with Japan came from Japan attacking Pearl Harbor, and commissioned the anthropologist Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist, cultural relativist, and folklorist....
to write a widely distributed book on Japanese society and beliefs.
Organization
The concept of Project Camelot was first formulated by the Office of the Chief of Research and Development and presented to the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering who thereafter passed it on to the Army Research and Development Office who turned to the Special Operations and Research Office(Soro) at the American UniversityAmerican University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
of Washington DC. There was no organization as such as the project never got off the ground.
Further reading
- George E. Lowe, The Camelot Affair, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Tome 22, No 5, May 1966, ISSN 0096-3402