All former Soviet Union countries experience their past as a heavy burden. It led to the centralisation of scientific personnel, the separation of research from teaching at universities, and a concentration of certain branches of technology in different parts of the Union. This has given rise to a one-sided technology and science potential which frequently cannot be sufficiently supported due to a lack of adequate finance.
Cooperation between the Baltic States themselves is often hampered by an exaggerated sense of national identity, and international cooperation can be made difficult by linguistic problems. A critical issue is finance. The Baltic States themselves are experiencing budgetary constraints, and the West is cutting back on funding.
The analytical issues dealt with here include specific questions, such as in the sectors of energy policy, electrical equipment and electronics, and environmental considerations. The transfer of technology is also discussed, as is security: there is the possibility that science and scientific results can be obtained from the former Soviet Union at low cost by the criminal community.

Autorentext
Elmar Altvater, geb. 1938 in Kamen, ist Professor i.R. für Politikwissenschaften an der Freien Universität Berlin und Mitglied des wissenschaftlichen Beirats von Attac.

Inhalt
The Mechanisms of Regional And International Co-Operation In the Spheres of Science and Technology.- International Competitiveness and Science and Technology Transfer.- Science and Technological Policies of the Baltic States International Cooperation.- The Integration Problems of the Baltic States: Possibilities for the Formation of a Unified Technological, Economical, and Social Space.- Environmental Technological Policy in Lithuania and Possibilities for the Introduction of New Methods.- Strategic Implications for the Interaction Between Industrial Research and Development and Science and Technology Policy: The Case of The Countries in Transition.- On Economic Culture and Development With Special Regard to the Role of Science and Technology in the Process of Transformation in Centraleastern Europe.- Possible Forms of Co-Operation In Energy Policies Between Western and Baltic Countries.- International Cooperation in the Social Sciences: The Case of Western Europe and the Baltic States.- Scientific and Technical Potential of the Republic of Belorus and Possibilities of Co-Operation with the Baltic and West European States.- Utilization of the Latest Technologies for Working out Methods of Information Warfare and Its Possible Consequences.- Possible Trends of Terrorism Development Caused by Spread of Non-Fatal Weapons and Technologies of Double Application: Problems of Joint Control.- Science and Technological Policy in the Ukraine: European and Regional Aspects.- Dynamics of Scientific Potential of the Republic of Belorus and the Problem of Brain Drain: Short Term and Long Term Trends.- Science and Technology Co-Operation: The role of the U.S. Office of Naval Research Europe.