CHAPTER 9— THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL 



TECHNOLOGY 



I. IxTRODUCTIOjST 



The focus of this chapter is on technology : it is intended to delineate 

 the iini)ortant ways in which technology influences diplomacy ; to show 

 technological change as a process producing effects tliat diplomats 

 must deal Avith; and to raise questions as to whether and how govern- 

 ments can make j^urposeful, constructive use of these processes to fur- 

 ther diplomatic objectives. 



A survey of the history of tcclmology observes that the Industrial 

 Kevolutiou — which might also be called the "Technological Eevolu- 

 tion'* — was and continues to he a revolution of power, but not only in 

 the power of the mnclnne. "It revolutionized the power of the middle- 

 class em])loyer and the power of labour, the economic power of nations 

 and the power of armaments. But power in itself is neither good nor 

 evil : in the last analysis, its uses are subject to man's good sense or his 

 stui)idity. If this is a truism, it is one tliat man, in tlie age of nuclear 

 energy, can scarcely afford to ignore."* ^ 



Similarly, Professor Warner Schilling of Columbia University, who 

 has written extensively in the field of international politics, observes 

 that the industrial revolution changed all the elements of the "inter- 

 ]iarional i)olitical process" including the structures of states, their 

 policies, and their purposes, expectations, and means. 



Consider the chauges in * * * the number, location, and relative power [of 

 states in the world coiiinumity of nations]. As the industrial revolution trans- 

 formed the bases of military power and increased its mobility, international rela- 

 tions became global, rather than regional, in scope, and the relations among the 

 members of this global system became continuous, rather than episodic.^ 



Teclinology as the TJndcrpmnhig of Diplomacy 



The profound influence that technological change has had in the 

 past, and promises to have for the, future, implies the need for a 

 strong cori)S of diplomats trained to anticipate and prepare for the 

 direct and indirect impacts of technology on diplomatic concerns. As 

 William P. liogers, the Secretary of State, observed to the scientific 

 ] numbers o f his diplomatic service, January 29, 1970: "Science and 



' Charles Sinffpr, E. ,T. Holmyard, A. R, Hall, and Trevor I. Williams, eds. "A History of 

 Technology." Vol. V : The Late Nineteenth Century, 1S50 to 1900 (New York, Oxford 

 University Press, 19.'>S), page S40. 



- Warner R. Schillins;. "Teehnolosy and International Relations." International Encyclo- 

 pedia of the Social Sciences. Edited by David L. Sills, (New York, , The Macmillan Company 

 and the Free Press. Volume 15), 19GS, page 590. 



Note : This chapter was prepared in 1970 by Franklin P. Huddle. 



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