In the academic debate on infrastructures in the Global South, there is a broad consensus that (post)colonial legacies present a major challenge for a transition towards more inclusive, sustainable and adapted modes of providing services. Yet, relatively little is known about the emergence and evolution of infrastructures in former colonies. Until a decade ago, most historical studies followed Daniel Headrick's (1981) "tools of empire" thesis, painting-with broad brush strokes-a picture of infrastructures as instruments for advancing the colonial project of exploitation and subordination of non-European peoples and environments. This paper explores new research perspectives beyond this straightforward, 'diffusionist' perspective on technology transfer. In order to do so, it presents and discusses more recent studies which focus on interactive transfer processes as well as mechanisms of appropriation, and which increasingly combine approaches from imperial history, environmental history, and history of technology.There is much to gain from unpacking the changing motives and ideologies behind technology transfer; tracing the often contested and negotiated flows of ideas, technologies and knowledge within multilayered global networks; investigating the manifold ways in which infrastructures reflected and (re)produced colonial spaces and identities; critically reflecting on the utility of large (socio)technical systems (LTS) for the Global South; and approaching infrastructures in the (post)colonial world through entangled histories of technology and the environment. Following David Arnold's (2005) plea for a "more interactive, culturally-nuanced, multi-sited debate" on technology in the non-Western world, the paper offers fresh insights for a broader debate about how infrastructures work within specific parameters of time, place and culture.

Central Asia is among the world regions that are least explored in terms of their history of technology. This essay reviews a wide array of academic literature that can serve as a base for historical research on technology and material culture in the region. It furthermore explores some of the most promising conceptual avenues for such an endeavor. The metaphor of a borderland, it argues, can be used beyond its geographical meaning to conceptualize the region's technological landscape. This landscape has been shaped by the coexistence of traditional artisanal practices and material cultures, the industrial and architectural legacies of Soviet rule as well as the region's recent reemergence as a hub between Russia, China, Europe, and the Middle East. Based on case studies from different disciplines, this essay therefore discusses technology's role in creating borderlands or territoriality, statehood, production, and everyday life in Central Asia. Jonas van der Straeten is a postdoctoral researcher in the project "A Global History of Technology, 1850-2000" at the Technical University of Darmstadt specializing in the history of technology of the twentieth century Africa and Central Asia.

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Despite large amounts of readily available renewable energy, most island states in the Caribbean are still heavily dependent on mostly imported fossil fuels for their energy production. Making use of empirical analyses, this paper explores the barriers to the development of RE for power generation in the Caribbean, and outlines a strategy of how to overcome these barriers. Semistructured interviews with three "super-experts" serve to supplement the findings of a preceding literature review. Approximately 30 experts are consulted to confirm and rank the identified barriers to RE according to their importance. The endproduct of this study is a ranking matrix that will serve as a strategy instrument for decision-makers, who are then able to prioritise barriers and initiate their removal.

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