What does modernization mean? It means to industrialize and to advance the material and cultural infrastructure of a group. It is believed that Britain was the center of the industrial revolution with James Watt’s invention of steam engine in 1765 (as opposed to having multiple simultaneous centers of advancement). Ever since that, the Western countries have industrialized their countries.
Fast forward to the post-WWII era in the West. The USA and the USSR stood out as the superpowers. How does each scholar explain the rise and fall of modernization? When did it start, and for what reasons? In the 1950s or was it in the 1960s: Eisenhower and Kennedy.
*Here, what must be discussed is the spread and dissemination of these technologies across political boundaries. In other words, how does modernization that started in one point spread to other countries? Originally it means for the advanced countries to help modernize another country.
What schools of thought are there about this subject? There are scholars who focus on the strategic motivation of the USA such as Westad. Seen from the perspective of these powerful states, the urge to impose high modernism within their sphere of influence was what motivated them to take actions.
Prehistory of Today 