Constructing a Tokamak: Political, Economic and Technical Factors as Constraints and Resources

In this paper, we look at how scientists construct the national character of their projects, to make them acceptable to governments. We also analyze how scientists adapt their projects to conflicting interests within the scientific field, and to governments' priorities defined in the political field. Our study of the construction of a tokamak suggests that agents, institutions and events can be seen as limiting factors or constraints on action, as well as resources that can be used to modify the relations of power between groups. But the ability to effect change depends in turn on the uneven distribution of symbolic (or scientific), social and cultural capital between the different agents. It is the structure of the distribution of these three sorts of capital which determines the chance of success of the many scientific projects put forwarded by scientists.