Cold War politics and scientific communities: the case of Silicon Valley

Abstract

Many cities, regions and states have sought to replicate the economic success achieved by the high-tech industrial cluster of ‘Silicon Valley’ in northern California. While Silicon Valley's success is commonly attributed to particular entrepreneurs, firms and institutions, historically-specific political and economic frameworks underpinned its development. Policies and programmes of the US government during the early decades of the Cold War created new economic opportunities for people and organisations engaged in scientific research, yet the influence of public funding streams can be obscured because of the devolved and privatised way in which the programmes were structured and implemented. Exploring these political frameworks, particularly the way in which they altered the fortunes of Silicon Valley's major research institution, Stanford University, helps explain why Silicon Valley grew where it did, and why its economic ecosystem has proved so difficult to replicate elsewhere.