Russian discourses on technological sovereignty (evidence from expert survey)

The article discusses approaches to the sociological understanding of the concept of “technological sovereignty”, which is one of Russia’s political priorities against the background of sanctions pressure and the evolution of the modern world system towards increasing polycentrism. A systematic review of European and Russian research papers and official documents demonstrates a sharp increase in interest in the topic of technological sovereignty over the past decade, despite significant differences in the definition of this term. The empirical part of the study is based on the content analysis of interviews conducted by the authors (N = 25) with leading Russian academic experts and practitioners. Based on the analysis of interviews, key narratives (elements of perception) of the essence and mechanisms of ensuring technological sovereignty are identified. It was found that among domestic experts, the predominant attitude is to increase national control over key technologies while maintaining international economic ties. When discussing Russia’s technological independence, experts go beyond the securitization discourse that dominates official documents to a discourse of increasing competitive advantages and efficiency. The experts surveyed believe that China’s experience of achieving technological sovereignty is generally more successful than Russia’s, but the experts remain sceptical about the possibility of implementing China’s experience in Russia.