China, India, and the social construction of technology in international society: the English school meets science and technology studies

Stroikos, Dimitrios ORCID: 0000-0002-1588-1969 (2020) China, India, and the social construction of technology in international society: the English school meets science and technology studies. Review of International Studies, 46 (5). 713 - 731. ISSN 0260-2105

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Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing scholarly interest in how International Relations theory can contribute to our understanding of the impact of technology on global politics, underpinned mainly by an engagement with Science and Technology Studies (STS). However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which international society shapes technology. Building on sociological and historical studies of science and technology, this article outlines one way through which international society has constituted technology by developing a synthetic account of the emergence of technological advancement as a ‘standard of civilisation’ in the nineteenth century that differentiated the ‘society of civilised states’ from non-European societies, with a particular focus on China and India. In doing so, this article also highlights how this process has had a powerful and enduring influence on Chinese and Indian conceptions about science and technology. Thus, by shifting the focus from how technology shapes global politics to how international society shapes technology, this article provides new insights into the relationship between technology, power, and modernity in an interdisciplinary context. It also offers a new way of thinking about the complex dynamics of today's global politics of technology.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-...
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors
Divisions:	International Relations
Subjects:	J Political Science > JZ International relations H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform T Technology > T Technology (General)
Date Deposited:	21 Sep 2021 09:09
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2024 16:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/111954

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