The first volume in a major series, Technology, Culture and Competitiveness 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 we think about technology and international relations/international political economy; in what sense technology is a fundamental component of national competitive advantage and what national, local and corporate policy should be in light of this; and what the relationship is between technological innovation and global and political economics 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.