Technological change, hegemonic transition and communication policy: State-MNC relations in the wireless telegraph industry, 1896--1934

This dissertation investigates the ways in which changes in the international system influence the relationship between multinational corporations and their home states and the policies that regulate this relationship. How do ascendancy and decline influence MNC-home state relations in the radiotelegraph industry? How do the policy strategies of the declining hegemon, hoping to maintain its leadership position, differ from the policies appropriate for a rising system leader, intent on improving its position in international communications?; The two extended case studies of this dissertation compare British policymakers' attitudes towards the Marconi Company in the 1896--1906 period, on the one hand, and American policymakers' attitudes toward International Telephone and Telegraph in the 1920--1934 period, on the other. The cases explain the regulations examined---the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1904 and Section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934---as a result of conflicts between multinational corporations and their home states and situate them in the context of hegemonic rivalry.; Policymakers in both countries looked at wireless telegraphy from a systemic perspective, in relation to the submarine cable network controlled by Britain since the mid-19th century. British decisionmakers in the Post Office and in the Admiralty clashed over the usefulness of the technology and the importance of the Marconi Company for the national interest the same way as State Department officials and officers of the U.S. Navy disagreed about the value of the two technologies and the importance of I.T.T. for the national interest. Both sets of conflicts revolve around what may be called the central conflict of hegemonic transition in state-MNC relations: the desirability and extent of expansion at different stages of the hegemonic cycle.; This interdisciplinary work lies at the intersection of communications policy, international relations, diplomatic history and business history. The analysis of the cases relies on extensive archival research in private and public records from the United States and Great Britain.