Abstract

DELGADO RAMOS, Gian Carlo. The Political Sociology of Nanotechnology In the Western Hemisphere: A Case Study of the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. rev.estud.soc. [online]. 2007, n.27, pp.164-181. ISSN 0123-885X.

Nanotechnology, which is the manipulation of matter at a scale of one billionth of a meter, is poised to be one of the main technological developments of the twenty-first century. Although great uncertainty still surrounds it, the advances in nanotechnology have been impressive, and, given its potential, capitalist competition in the field is becoming increasingly intense. This paper addresses nanotechnology from a socio-political and geo-economic perspective in order to highlight the dynamics and interests at stake, the social networks and power relations involved, and the existing tensions due to capitalist competition and contradiction, among other aspects. This case study of nanotechnology in the Western hemisphere allows us to show and discuss some of the principal ways high technology is fomented in the metropolis (the United States in this case) and how this research agenda is adopted in the periphery (in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina).

Keywords : Nanotechnology; nanoscience; research and development; competitiveness; Latin America.

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