ABSTRACT
Science and technology stand at the center of the modern world order – both political and economic. Since World War II, nations have increasingly turned to scientific and technological research and development to provide for their national security (Dennis 1994). The regulatory authority of the state depends implicitly on the generation of statistical information about society and the economy, and on science advice concerning health, safety, and environmental risks (Ezrahi 1990; Jasanoff 1990, 1986; Beck 1992; Porter 1995; Rueschemeyer and Skocpol 1995). The modern firm is first and foremost an agent of technological production (Chandler 1977; Noble 1977; Hughes 1983). Yet, in seeking to understand processes of global change now taking place, students of international political economy have left largely unexamined the activities of scientists, engineers, and others in society who are responsible for the production of new knowledges and technologies. Although scientific and technological changes have been recognized as fundamental components of globalization, scholars have traditionally assumed that they take place outside the realm of social analysis, that is, that they
are independent drivers of society and the economy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
