| Abstract: | A historical overview of European science and technology suggests the existence of two parallel trends: those of nationalization and de-nationalization. Since the Enlightenment, besides the modernist universalist perspective on science we find nationalist pressures pushing the idea of socially constructed technology, thus generating scientific results determined by national (cultural) factors. Nationalization and de-nationalization thrive together in certain circumstances--for instance, in disciplines such as geology, meteorology, botany or even physics and chemistry. The entry into the scene of commercial interests gives rise to national interests, in turn hampering efficiency and progress from the scientific perspective. Through national research policies these differential development patterns have tended to create an often unnecessary conflict between basic and applied research. The EU RTD framework has still to resolve these contradictions. |
