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Last Published: Fri, Aug 25 2017. 05 13 AM IST

The geopolitical prowess of science and technology

As the race between US and China shows, technological advancements not only boost economic growth but also ensure national security,
offer international leverage

Vinayak Dalmia

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India needs to build the infrastructure which can generate new technologies. Photo: Mint

In a recent article in the Financial Times, US secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross accused China of stealing the American genius.
Ross underscores two themesone that China and the US are bound for a long tussle and, two, that science and technology (S&T) is
part of geopolitics. China aspires to be a technology leader but the US stands in its way. China will go to any length to winfrom
mandatory technology transfers to strategic investments in disruptive American ventures.

S&T has long been regarded as important for economic growthin fact, Edwin Mansfield and Joseph Alois Schumpeter considered
technological change as one of the most important factors, if not the factor. And as we see from the jockeying between the US and
China, S&T is also a crucial tool to pursue a geopolitical agenda and build strategic leverage in international affairs.

Indeed, S&T is critical for ensuring national security and opening new market opportunities. Moreover, economic competitiveness has
become a proxy for military influence. Ownership of superior technology brings greater power and control. To build capacity, nations
rely on several policy leverspatent laws, tax incentives, and grants to labsto spur the public sector, private enterprise and
academia.

Take the example of middle powers such as Canada and Switzerland. It is their S&T capabilities that help them stay relevant in the
international arena. Estonia is another remarkable example of how a country can leverage its digital ecosystem to boost its position in
the international arena.

Similarly, Israela small country with a complicated past in an unforgiving neighbourhoodhas been able to consistently punch
above its weight because of its technological prowess. In fact, one of the reasons for Indias recent tilt towards Israel is the latters
strength in S&T, especially in agriculture. In other words, Israels thriving high-tech ecosystem serves the triple purpose of boosting
economic growth, ensuring national security, and offering international leverage.

Smartphone maker HTC is said to explore strategic options Amit Shah, Smriti Irani take oath as Rajya Sabha MPs
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For the past 50 years, the US has been the worlds superpower. It is no coincidence that the period correlates with Americas
leadership in S&T. The increased pace of scientific development came at the beginning of World War I with the establishment of the
Council of National Defence and the National Research Council. World War II also had a dramatic impactleading to the
development of the atomic weapon and the radar. Foundations of Silicon Valley were laid during and because of the war. The Cold
War gave a big push to the US space programme.

Americans Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency is a national treasureit gave birth to the internet and the global positioning
system (GPS), and ushered in an unparalleled era of US hegemony. The military and the Central Intelligence Agency maintain
separate arms investing in the worlds leading technologies.

Alphabet and Palantir are private businesses but can act as proxies for their stateand they do play a geopolitical role. Googles
origins can be traced to a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Facebook has some data centres offshore but it is a distinctly American corporation which controls large amounts of data generated
around the world. This is power in todays age. The US continues in its leadership position because of its enviable university system
and islands of excellence such as Boston and Seattle.

According to Sophie Roborgh at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, Chinese innovation policy is a geopolitical instrument to gain
economic... And military supremacy. China aspires for global domination and it is playing the long game. Innovation takes centre
stage and it is seen through geopolitical glasses. China has identified 10 technology areas as part of its New Industry Policy 2025 and
aims to become an innovative country. Some have begun to call this the Beijing Consensus.

Chinas investments in clean energy and space have made technology an important pawn in the power play between the West and
China, argues Roborgh. China is challenging Americas dominance of the knowledge economy. Former US energy secretary Steven
Chu considers this to be a Sputnik moment, drawing analogies to the Cold War space race between the US and the Soviet Union.
Today, China aims to become a superpower in Artificial Intelligence, leading to a technology race with the US. In biotechnology, there
is already a US-China dispute over genetic data. China controls 70% of all the mining capacity of bitcoins and it is giving researchers
significant financial incentives to publish in reputed journals. The Chinese government also invests strategically in the US, particularly
in Silicon Valley.

At home, as India rediscovers its foreign policy mojo, it must act on similar lines. Indias recent efforts to shore up its domestic
defence manufacturing industry, develop a regional satellite for South Asia and a home-grown GPS, as well as establish 20 world-class
universities, are all steps in the right direction.

But a quick look at the numbers shows how much still needs to be done. As per the 2015 report by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development, the US spent $433 billionthats 2.7% of its GDPon research and development (R&D) in 2013.
South Korea and Israel each spent 4% of their GDP while China is targeting 2.5% by 2020. India currently spends only 0.9% of GDP
on R&D.

Smartphone maker HTC is said to explore strategic options Amit Shah, Smriti Irani take oath as Rajya Sabha MPs
To move forward, India needs to recognize the geopolitical reality of S&T. It needs to identify focus areas, analyse what kind of role it
can play and where the state can make tactical investments overseas. More specifically, India needs to build the infrastructure which
can generate new technologies. It needs to invest in human capital, maintain a cadre of top scientists and professionals, and develop
industry-lab links.
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Vinayak Dalmia is an entrepreneur.

Comments are welcome at theirview@livemint.com

First Published: Thu, Aug 24 2017. 11 31 PM IST

TOPICS: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY GEOPOLITICS US CHINA

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Smartphone maker HTC is said to explore strategic options Amit Shah, Smriti Irani take oath as Rajya Sabha MPs