Vestnik of Vitebsk State Technological University (Dec 2023)
Features of the Formation of Technological Sovereignty at the Current Stage of Development
Abstract
The relevance of the problem of technological sovereignty of countries is due to the fact that access to new technologies can be crucial for their economic sovereignty, which has prompted them to compete fiercely for the development of their technological capabilities. The task of ensuring technological sovereignty has become relevant in the sphere of Russian and Belarusian priorities over the past few years. Following the COVID-19 crisis, disruption of supply chains and increased competition between the US and China, issues of technological sovereignty have become very relevant for developed countries. The article examines the modern discourse on technological sovereignty in the context of sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia and Belarus. The objective of the study is to determine the concept of technological sovereignty, its connection with the concept of economic sovereignty of the state, and to identify new directions for scientific, technological and innovation policy in the context of changing international relations. The concept of technological sovereignty is considered in connection with the concept of “strategic autonomy”. It is indicated that political changes in recent years have revealed three main types of political intervention to strengthen technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy: protection, promotion, and projection. The challenge for government agencies is to strike an appropriate balance between these types of policy interventions in the context of their own interests and capabilities. An innovation policy that views technological sovereignty as a means rather than an end requires governments to carefully assess which technologies are truly critical and what threats to their access exist. For Belarus, cooperation with Russia within the Union State in the formation of a single scientific and technological space, the growth of the R&D intensity GDP, and new approaches to the formation of macro-indicators of State programs for innovative development are of particular importance.
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