The Illusion of Universality in Innovation Policy and the Advocacy for Radical Localism.

I engage with the dominant view on limited need for modification when models are transmitted across regions in global innovation policy. Although the authors criticize the “one-size-fits-all” methodology and promote the idea of localized adaptation, I contend that a more profound shift is necessary — advocating for a model of radical localism, whereby regions should completely forsake standardized frameworks in preference for policies developed exclusively based on local needs, historical backgrounds, and socio-political contexts.

Consider for one moment the continued talk about “Silicon Valley” ecosystems as being the global gold standard. From Turkey to Tunisia, countries around the world try to emulate their own Silicon Valleys, but very often under the influence of international actors and delegations that have no more than one recipe for “success.” The problem, as Pfotenhauer (2023) makes clear, is that this often produces policies in contradiction to regional socio-cultural environments, such as Bavaria’s “conservative innovation culture,” which holds on to stability more than change. What could motivate Bavaria, Turkey, or Tunisia to pursue an imitation of the Silicon Valley paradigm of “disruption for the sake of growth” when their economic and social goals are very different?