本研究的問題是，在受灣石化業的發展過程中，國家機器到底扮演著什麼角色以及如何轉化。本文的主要發現是國家機器在石化業發展初期並未扮演領導的角色，這樣的角色是在1970年代之後才出現。但是國家機器對石化業的政策曾經在1980年代初期有過重大轉變，即不再將石化業視為策略性工業。然而這4汞的政策面臨來自石化業龐大資本的壓力，也引起國家機器內部科技官僚和與石化業資本關係密切的官僚之間的矛盾。1985年之後，新的內閣形成，石化產業又再度成為策略性工業，拯力配合資本主的利益。但是由於臺灣整體社會的自由化和民主化的關係，各種社會運動和環保自立救濟事件不斷興起，使得資本主以外移的方式壓迫國家機器。1990年代，一個新的政商關係已經形成，國家機器全力回巳合資本的投資跟隨資本起舞。本文以Evans的「鍍般的自主性」性概念解釋國家機器領導和組織石化業來說明國家機器的角色。而在國家機器角色轉化的部份，本文則以石化資本的影響力，以及國家機器內部的不同派系解釋。

The main task of this paper is to investigate the role of the state in the development of Taiwan's petrochemical industry. The major findings of this paper are first， the state played a leading and organizing role in the 1970s. Second， this leading role was given up by the state in the early 1980s. How· ever， the state met the resistance from the petrochemical capitalists and from the bureaucrats who managed the state· and party·invested petrochemical enterprises. Third， the fact that the latter faction of the state in gaining power in the reorganization of the state bureaucracy in 1985 led the state to refor· mulate the development policy in which the petrochemical industry regained the status of the strategic industry. Fourth， this policy however met the chal· lenge from the civil society. But the petrochemical capitalists were able to use their veto power to influence the state. In 1990s， the state's role in the petro·' chemical industry is to follow rather than to lead the capitalists. In this paper， Evans'“embedded autonomy"is used to explain the role of the state in organiz· ing the industry. The transformation of the role of the state is also explained by the factors of the rising power of the capitalists and the internal tension between the technocrats and the state bourgeoisie