National military establishments and the advancement of science and technology

Historical studies of the role of military agencies and considerations of military power in the promotion of science and technology have burgeoned since the early 1980s. Initially, such studies focused chiefly on the enormous expansion of physical research in the United States in the two decades following the Second World War. More recently it has become clear - and this collection of essays contribute immediately to that recognition - that a decisive influence of military factors upon the development of science and technology is by no means limited to the United States or to that one period. The great strength of this collection - apart from the quality and originality of the contributions - is the range of the national military and scientific cultures considered: Argentina, Britain, France, USA, and especially, Germany and Spain.