Reliance on third-party libraries is now commonplace in contemporary software engineering. Being open source in nature, these libraries should advocate for a world where the freedoms and opportunities of open source software can be enjoyed by all. Yet, there is a growing concern related to maintainers using their influence to make political stances (i.e., referred to as protestware). In this paper, we reflect on the impact of world politics on software ecosystems, especially in the context of the ongoing War in Ukraine. We show three cases where world politics has had an impact on a software ecosystem, and how these incidents may result in either benign or malignant consequences. We further point to specific opportunities for research, and conclude with a research agenda with ten research questions to guide future research directions.
翻译：现在,对第三方图书馆的依赖在当代软件工程中司空见惯。作为开放源码,这些图书馆应该倡导建立一个开放源码软件的自由和机会能够为所有人享有的世界。然而,人们日益关注维护者利用其影响力采取政治立场(即称为抗议软件)的问题。在本文中,我们思考世界政治对软件生态系统的影响,特别是在乌克兰正在进行的战争背景下。我们展示了世界政治对软件生态系统产生影响的三个案例,以及这些事件如何导致良性或恶性后果。我们进一步指出具体的研究机会,并在研究议程结束时提出十个研究问题,以指导未来的研究方向。
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