網際網路歷史的政經分析：美國與台灣經驗

Abstract

如同所有科技，網際網路也是社會環境的產物。目前商業化的運作、溝通導向網際網路的出現是經過一段長期技術、經濟、政治重構過程而來。網際網路的前身―ARPANET源於冷戰時期的軍事計畫，是美國遭受蘇聯核武攻擊時軍事通訊目的而設計。隨後，為因應70年代以來的政經危機，美國設立NSFNET創新科技以維持其軍事、經濟上的霸權地位。80年代電信自由化浪潮、90年代NII政策的推動，更是後冷戰時期美國意圖支配全球網路市場的精心之作。而負責供應、打造美國不同歷史進程網路基礎建設的，則是其綿密的軍事―工業複合體。 至於台灣網際網路的發展，則是國家與國際勢力競逐下的產物。戰後初期的美援計畫將台灣傳播通訊結構納入冷戰圍堵政策；而國際分工體制，更進一步深化台灣對美日為首之軍事工業複合體的依賴關係。隨著80年代資訊政策與高科技工業的推展，網際網路逐漸在台灣萌芽、普及。90年代國家機器正式將網際網路的發展納入NII計畫，並透過電信自由化政策，積極為跨國、本地資本提供競逐利益的空間，以為解決其統治正當性的手段。再次顯示台灣網際網路的發展實為內外政經勢力相互角力的結果。

Political economists believe that the development of technologies can’t be isolated from their social, economic, and political environments, so the status quo of any technology comes from a long process of interactions among its technological nature, economic situation, and political environment. Based on the perspective of political economy, this study examines the Internet history of the U.S. and of Taiwan to investigate how the technology itself, the economic and political condition shaped the development of the Internet both in the U.S. and in Taiwan. This study found that the economic and political environment did play an important role in shaping the development of the Internet both in the U.S. and in Taiwan. Furthermore, this study also discovered that the development of the Internet of the U.S. and that of Taiwan were less similar than different due to the large differences existing between the two countries in terms of the political and economic environment. More details of the research findings were discussed in the thesis.