Science, technology and innovation in European politics

Abstract

Throughout the history of the political economy of innovation, the patterns of territory, competition/co-operation, knowledge production/distribution, and public action have been constantly re-organised. The trends in Europe, since the post-war period, are a good example of this. The political and economic space created by the EU and pan-European integration process has been modifying the context for innovation throughout these decades. The current paper examines these historical transformations, and provides a critical picture of the context in which innovative European firms operate today. In so doing, the study acknowledges that changes in the 'real world' of politics and economics are accompanied by changes in the 'cognitive framework', both in terms of how innovation is understood and how public action is designed accordingly. Consequently, it is the main claim of this paper that the political economy of innovation is as much the result of the constraints and dynamics imposed by the globalisation/acceleration of the innovation process, as it is the result of an active socio-political construction through the re-alignment of public actions following a new interpretative and institutionally negotiated framework. The conclusions identify open research lines.