Beyond Technonationalism: Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Asia
Kathryn Ibata‐Arens
Abstract
Due to their sheer size, economic prowess, and technological and cultural influence, a number of Asian countries have ascended to prominent positions on the global stage. Accordingly, many scholars and practitioners have become keenly interested in the way these countries actively pursue public policies designed to spur their economic development and success. Kathryn Ibata-Arens’ book, Beyond Technonationalism, expertly recounts the policies and institutional arrangements aimed at spurring innovation in four such countries: Japan, China, India, and Singapore. Exhibiting varying degrees of success in the contemporary era, each country has pursued a form of technonationalism—a policy approach designed to guard against international competitors and bolster a country’s economic prosperity and national security through scientific and technological advancement. Given the success of these Asian countries, how have their public institutions and policies increased their capacity to innovate and shaped the success of their biomedical industry? According to Ibata-Arens, the answer lies in what she calls networked technonationalism. While the traditional technonational state seeks to maintain its independence from international influence by keeping tight controls on foreign trade and investment, protecting domestic firms through taxes and tariffs, and proactively promoting products made domestically, networked technonationalism characterizes government efforts to expand domestic scientized expertise and knowledge by leveraging international professional and diaspora networks and inward foreign direct investment. Ibata-Arens’ broad argument is that governments that practice networked technonationalism are well positioned to generate innovation that produces “a return on investment (ROI) for domestic firms and workers” (Ibata-Arens 2019, p. 55).