Politics, Technology, and Bureaucracies: An Overview

Concepts drawn from articles appearing in this issue of Journal of Asian & African Studies (see abstracts elsewhere in this issue) are placed in a cultural system framework of the "technology transfer, appropriate technology" theme. Identified are five main groups of decisionmakers: political elites, bureaucratic elites, technocrats, multinationals & indigenous monopolies, & academic & intellectual establishments. Some implications of these groups' interactions are discussed: eg, determination of the goals & direction of technology transfer & diffusion by a structure of politico-bureaucratic & industrial elites, incomplete utilization of national resources & capabilities for technological self-reliance because of intra-elite rivalry, increasing awareness of the danger of "cultural imperialism," & increasing SE & political distance between Ur & Ru areas. 37 References. I. Kocher.