Technological Peripheralization

Abstract

Technological gaps in large-scale systems, whether ancient empires or the modern world system, are millenia old and are usually viewed in terms of variable rates of innovation and diffusion. When overlaid with large-scale, tightly coupled systems, such as air transport, pharmaceutical regimes, power grids, industrial supply chains, or food supply networks, these mismatches frequently have adverse consequences for the performance of the system. This article suggests that these gaps are a consequence of the network topologies that produce innovation, and more importantly that the dynamics of these networks progressively amplify the gaps. The dark side of technological acceleration (the geometric growth in technological performance) in core regions is an expanding gap between core and periphery, creating a unique class of hazards outside the core.