Држава и технологија
The State and Technology

Summary/Abstract: Being key political institutions in contemporary world, states are most important, and most influential political actors who interact with technology and technological development. Relationship between state and technology is, and through history always was, a complex one. There are strong arguments that technology played a crucial role in formation of both ancient empires and modern states. Similarly, state has continuously been major regulator and consumer of technology, and these types of engagement were instrumental for shaping of technology by the state. First and most important role of the state is in providing legal framework for technological development. Although position of the state as chief regulator of technology is to some extent challenged by international institutions, national laws and regulations are still main source of technological standards. There are three main branches of law that deal with technology and its consequences: patent law, occupational safety legislation and environmental law. Another way for state to directly engage in technological development is financing scientific and technological research and consuming technologies. Research and development are today seen as possibility to provide economic advantage and prestige in international relations, while by funding universities state provides qualified workforce necessary for smooth functioning of modern technological systems. As a consumer, state is able to crucially shape certain branches of technology, primarily in defense and security sector, but its engagement is also frequently inevitable in construction of large infrastructural projects. Finally, state is expected to deal with unintended consequences of technology. Unexpected consequences stem from our imperfect knowledge and predictive capabilities, and therefore can never be completely avoided. When technologies have negative effects, either material or social, state’s responsibility is to provide “equal distribution of risks”. State activities in this area can be preventive or reactive. In the first case, state could delay implementation of new technology until further information about its impact is obtained. In second case, what states do is damage control, and learning from experiences. Review of contemporary scientific research of relationship between state and technology shows that there is a wide gap between micro and macro level of analysis. While constructivists tend to focus on detailed micro- level case studies, technological determinists are more likely to adopt top- down approach and offer macro- level explanations. More comprehensive theoretical framework should be developed in order to overcome this obstacle.

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