Techno-nationalism and International Cooperation – this was the title of an online discussion held on 28 June 2024, by the Connectivity Center of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA). Péter Goreczky, Senior Analyst of HIIA, said that the concept of techno-nationalism appeared in the 1980s, but its content has changed significantly since then. While techno-nationalism used to be primarily a concept aimed at the development and protection of the domestic economy, it has now also become a geopolitical tool, aimed at limiting the development of a rival country, in addition to protecting its own technological innovation.

Enescan Lorci of the National Sun Yat-sen University said that in China, techno-nationalism has emerged mainly in the context of national sovereignty in cyberspace. Although techno-nationalism takes different forms in the practices of different major powers, global trends can be identified. Péter Goreczky pointed out that the geopolitical weight of individual countries determines the nature of their techno-nationalist measures, while Enescan Lorci pointed out that the United States and China are experiencing a growing military logic in both technological innovation and cyberspace, which is undermining the chances of cooperation.

The experts agreed that global companies are interdependent in many technological areas and therefore have an interest in maintaining international technological cooperation.