651 



Supplies of coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other fossil fuels are not 

 uniformly distributed among the nations of the world and raise ques- 

 tions of international adjustment and accommodation. The global 

 problems of air pollution and dis])osal of radioactive materials are also 

 €losely related to power generation. 



Ground transportation is already an internatioiinl network in 

 Europe and North America ; similar networks are of increasing impor- 

 tance in Africa and South America. Air transportation is clearly 

 global, with enormous problems of safety standards, prevention of dis- 

 semination of disease vectors, standardization of operational training, 

 specialized international language and codes, procedures for interna- 

 tional air shipment, security of air cargoes, international sales of air- 

 craft and engines, and — most recently — the competitive development of 

 three large supersonic transport aircraft. 



Communications networks are inherently global, and promise to 

 become more so with the advent of communications satellites for tele- 

 phone, radio, and television. Some of the international diplomatic 

 aspects of this subject will be discussed in a later study. Involved are 

 allocation of the electromagnetic spectrum, content of international 

 television programs, standardization of codes and procedures, and 

 many more. The role of the computer in association with international 

 communications has yet to be defined, but appears certain to be a major 

 one. Also of importance is the economic power of the large corpora- 

 tions specializing in the development and production of communica- 

 tions and computer hardware ; this field of activity received primary 

 attention in the French study of the penetration of Europe by Ameri- 

 can corporations.^® 



Recapitulation: Diplomatic Conseqiiences of Technology 



It is no easy matter to inventory the myriad of international con- 

 sequences flowing from the four kinds of technology discussed in this 

 section. Foremost, perhaps, is the conclusion that international com- 

 petition for primacy among nations is to a very large extent a tech- 

 nological race. 



Nuclear weapons and atomic power have profoundly influenced 

 the international scene in many subtle and unexpected ways : creating 

 the need for a deeper mutual understanding between the superpowers 

 as a means toward their mutual security; creating opportunities for 

 large multipurpose projects to open desert regions of the world to 

 habitation; and generating a host of international agencies and ac- 

 tivities to control and exploit this still new product of science. 



Space exploration has led to a similar need for closer understand- 

 ing and cooperation among nations, as well as conferring prestige and 

 power upon the leaders in this technology. The securing of various new 

 benefits by all nations from space teclinology requires cooperative 

 agreement and joint action. Planet Earth has been shown visibly and 

 coherently as a single unit whose artificial divisions by mankind can 

 be ignored in the global study of weather, resources of land and ocean, 

 and even the superficial changes brought about by industry, agricul- 

 ture, and human settlement. 



The mundane field of agTicultural technology', among the first at- 

 tempted by man, has also generated its worldwide conflicts and ten- 



^ J. J. Servan-Schreiber. "The American Challenge," Op. cit. 



