Cooperating in asymmetric contexts: an interdisciplinary approach to STI negotiations involving developing countries

Abstract

What drives the implementation of international cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)? Why do negotiations in some areas evolve to concrete measures and others do not? What factors explain variations in implementation in initiatives with different countries? At which circumstances can implementation be effective from the point of view of developing countries? To answer those questions this paper proposes an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that draws on studies from International Politics, Political Economy, Foreign Policy Analysis, Science and Technology Policy and History of Science and Technology. The paper departs from conceptual and theoretical elaborations on power and shows how they relate to STI and asymmetric negotiations involving developing countries and powerful counterparts. It concludes by proposing four patterns on implementation and non-implementation of STI negotiations and illustrating them with hypotheses related to cases of Brazil-US nuclear and aeronautic agreements and Brazil-China space and agriculture agreements.

Keywords

• science technology and innovation
• international cooperation
• power
• foreign policy
• developing countries