Paper short abstract:

The paper presents research into the fate of researchers employed at chemical plants before 1989. We focus on a double semi-peripherality: a geographical one (Czech Republic) and a disciplinary one (post-1989 transformation of industrial R&D) resulting in a unique perspective on transformation.

Paper long abstract:

The paper presents the preliminary results of our research into the fate of chemical R&D departments and institutes affiliated with chemical plants in the Czech Republic. The research comprises an analysis of archival materials and a thematic analysis of interviews conducted with researchers formerly employed at the factories to conduct applied research, solve ad hoc technical issues, and work on patents and innovations. Due to limited resources this also led to the production of unorthodox knowledge, needed for DIY solutions. We believe this analysis may offer a new perspective on the economic and political transformation after 1989. As such, our paper focuses on a double semi-peripherality. Firstly, its geographical focus is on a country in Europe´s semi-periphery affected by attempts to push it into the centre through the implementation of measures designed by actors such as the IMF and WB. Secondly, we focus on a subject paid little attention in science and technology studies. Unlike extensively researched academic research and its transformation (Balazs, Faulkner, and Schimank 1995; Schimank 1995; Vohlídalová 2017), applied research has been paid little attention (Muller 1995). Our aim is to show how our understanding of the processes of transformation may be challenged by the perspective offered by those deeply affected by the changes but rarely listened to despite representing part of the intellectual elite. This perspective promises to challenge the dichotomous interpretation of the transformation as a triumph of economic necessity and efficacy or as a social catastrophe for those at its losing end.