E-Book Overview
The first volume in a major new series, this book will be an essential read for all those who need to deal with the causes and consequences of rapid technological change in an increasingly globalized world, whether they be government policy-makers, managers of multi-national corporations, commentators on the international scene or specialists in and students of international politics, economics and business studies.The authors discuss three related areas:* How do we think about technology and international relations/international political economy? How does technology relate to competitiveness? How does it inlfuence our culture and how is it influenced by it?* In what sense is technology a fundamental component of national competitive advantage and what ought national, local and corporate policy to be in the light of this?* What is the relationship between technological innovation and global political and economic change?Technology is discussed not just in an instrumental sense - as a tool of power and an object of policy - but equally in a transcendental sense - as a key to shaping and structuring how we understand and interpret reality.The final section of the book presents case studies of three core sectors of the world political economy, finance , aviation and automobiles.
E-Book Content
Technology, Culture and Competitiveness The course of history has demonstrated the importance of technological change in the military, political and economic arenas. Perhaps more fundamentally, the ongoing and controversial evolution of a global culture and society also reflects the significant influence of technology. Not all of these developments can be attributed merely to technology, and its influence, while profound, is far from inevitable. Nevertheless, it plays a highly significant role in the international political economy—one that has been consistently overlooked and undervalued. In attempting to give technology a central place in international political economy, this book is arranged into three sections. The first raises the basic issue of how to think about the subject. Four chapters question our ontological and epistemological assumptions and identify two broad and complementary approaches: the instrumental, where technology serves as a tool of power and as an object of policy; and the transcendental, where technology affects our view of the world, our way of understanding, interpreting and constituting ‘reality’. The second part brings together chapters that examine a key question of contemporary policy debate: in what sense is technology a fundamental component of international competitive advantage and, consequently, what should international, national, local and corporate policy be in the light of this? The third section provides case studies within the areas of finance, aviation and automobiles. The central focus of this volume is the importance of technology in international political economy. Within this overall approach, culture, competitiveness and globalisation provide three unifying themes that form a crucial part of the authors’ work. This is a challenging and exciting new book for those studying IPE as well as for policy makers and the business community. Michael Talalay was Senior Research Fellow at Nottingham Trent University and is now Principal Consultant in IT with the Butler Group. Chris Farrands is Principal Lecturer in International Relations at the Nottingham Trent University. Roger Tooze is Professor of International Relations at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Technology and the Global Political Economy Edited by Michael Talalay Principal Consultant, Butler Group Chris Farrands Principal Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Despite its evident importance in our daily lives, technology has too often been ignored as a critical factor in international affairs and i