One of the major issues of the "Tensions of Europe" network concerns the influence of technology on the process of economic, social and political integration in 20th century Europe. This is clearly reflected in the three main lines of investigation followed across the different themes: the linking of infrastructures, the circulation of artefacts and services, and the circulation of knowledge. At the same time, this process -and the role of technology in it- is not seen as deterministic or uncontested. As the name of the network indicates, the need is well recognised to examine the tensions resulting from the possible divergence of technological possibilities and socio-economic realities.

It seems fairly obvious that information systems and technologies (IST) have played an important linking role even before the advent of the Internet. Thus, for example, the possibilities offered by IST have strongly influenced the way managers were able to exercise control and therefore constituted an important factor in the organisation of large-scale enterprise and their geographic extension. The same is true for governments and their statistical apparatus for instance. The recent integration of computer networks and electronic data exchange facilitated the creation of common databases and policies among governments, speeding up developments, which had started earlier. It also created new possibilities for business, for example enabling companies to develop new organisational practices (e.g. just in time). The popularisation of the Internet has also created new forms of bilateral and multilateral communications among individuals (e-mail and "chat") and consumption (e-commerce).

At the same time, there are a number of barriers that complicate these linkages and interchanges. The most obvious one is language, because it is the medium used for the storage and the dissemination of information. This is of particular importance in Europe, where there are not only the "official" national languages, but where regional languages have also been growing in importance over the last decades of the 20th century. A second barrier concerns national standards and industrial policies. Their influence can be seen in the development of the computer industry in Europe, where national efforts and rules might have played an important role in preventing European companies to become more competitive internationally. A third barrier, which usually receives less attention but is of considerable importance, derives from the national and cultural differences among the users of information systems and technologies, both in terms of individuals, organisations and society as a whole.

This theme of the network will therefore move from producer-centred accounts of the development of IST towards the user dimension. It will namely look at how the persisting differences in Europe have shaped the use of IST and either facilitated or hampered the process of economic, social and political European integration during the 20th century. More particularly, it will examine the contribution of IST to shaping organisations, society and the individuals, which form parts of both. Among the issues here are for example the influence of IST on the balance between centralised and decentralised forms of control or the differences in the use of IST driven by a variety of parameters, including (national) culture and gender.