The Interconnected Century of Technology. How Ecosystems, Platforms, and Alliances Determine Global Innovation

In a swiftly evolving world of rapid and diffuse transformation, the modes and mechanisms of innovation are increasingly complex. A cooperation-competition binary has begun to play out in novel ecosystems, networks, and platforms as political and industrial alliances form. In adaptation to this environment, policymakers and industry need to adopt new strategies to succeed. These efforts are driven not just top-down by political decisions, but also bottom-up through industrial initiatives and facilitated by multi-stakeholder arenas. The comment argues that against this backdrop, tech diplomacy helps to maintain economic stability and geopolitical balance alongside multilateral responses. Ultimately, this combination of tech diplomacy and multilateralism might help to overcome systemic differences.