"The process of paradigm change: the rise of guided innovation in China" - by CWP alum Andrew Kennedy

This article offers a new framework for understanding the beliefs behind science, technology and innovation (STI) policy. Building on recent research that has identified several distinct ‘policy paradigms’ in STI policy, it explains how these paradigms may be understood as hierarchical belief systems, and it identifies different variants within each paradigm. The article then illuminates one means through which countries may transition from one paradigm to another in this domain, focusing on the international diffusion of the ‘innovation systems policy’ paradigm after the 1980s. The article emphasizes how local ideology regarding state intervention in the economy shapes how the new paradigm is localized in the receiving state. To probe the plausibility of this theory, the article presents an in-depth case study focused on China’s reception and localization of the innovation systems policy paradigm in recent decades.

To cite this article: Andrew B. Kennedy (19 Jan 2024): The process of paradigm change:
the rise of guided innovation in China, Review of International Political Economy, DOI:
10.1080/09692290.2023.2280974 - To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2023.2280974

Andy Kennedy specializes in international politics, with particular interest in China, India, and the United States. His current research focuses on the globalization of innovation, US-China high-tech rivalry, and China’s rise as a technology power. He has also published widely on the foreign policies of China and India in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. His research has been supported by an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, among other sources.

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