Threat, Development and Innovation

Abstract

In this paper I attempt to establish a causal connection between threat level and innovation. To achieve this goal, I first investigate development and systemic pressure from a longue durée perspective. Authors attribute to systemic forces significant domestic developments, and in some cases modes of production. In the purpose of developing a more systematic overview of state response to international imperatives, I propose a taxonomy of possible state behavior, based on a neorealist perspective. Among the possibilities, Internal-balancing and innovation are privileged in the analysis. The last section is aimed at explaining technology innovation through internal balancing in the light of the level of external threat variable. External threat is a hard variable to operationalize, hence, I engage with the main authors on the subject to define it. The paper is a theoretical exercise, and it aims at generating hypotheses presented at the end of the text alongside with of future research projects.