An Examination of the Internet History from the Perspective of Political Economy: The experiences of the U.S. and Taiwan

• Main Authors: Hou-Chang Su, 蘇侯彰
• Other Authors: Shu-Chu Li
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2000
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/68865128939834398045

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 傳播所 === 88 === Political economists believe that the development of technologies can’t be isolated from their social, economic, and political environments, so the status quo of any technology comes from a long process of interactions among its technological nature, economic situation, and political environment. Based on the perspective of political economy, this study examines the Internet history of the U.S. and of Taiwan to investigate how the technology itself, the economic and political condition shaped the development of the Internet both in the U.S. and in Taiwan. This study found that the economic and political environment did play an important role in shaping the development of the Internet both in the U.S. and in Taiwan. Furthermore, this study also discovered that the development of the Internet of the U.S. and that of Taiwan were less similar than different due to the large differences existing between the two countries in terms of the political and economic environment. More details of the research findings were discussed in the thesis.