Disentangling the multilevel roles of the state in transformative innovation policy in the Global South: nested governance configurations in the case of Uruguay and Colombia

Mario A. Pinzón-Camargo, Isabel Bortagaray, Alejandro Balanzó-Guzmán, Juan Pablo Centeno, Gonzalo Ordóñez-Matamoros and Stefan Kuhlmann

Chapter 14 in The New Role of the State for Transformative Innovation, 2026, pp 222-244 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In this chapter, the authors seek to answer the following question: What are the possible roles of the state in transformative innovation policies (TIP) in a multilevel context in the Global South? They discuss the non-conflicting appearance of the state's role based on the first inventory of the roles of governments in sociotechnical system transitions. They argue that broader de facto governance situations might be subject to the specific institutional setting and the timing of such initiatives as part of broader policy contexts and trends. Such a setting might involve differentiated challenges concerning coordination and modes of agency in different possible governance levels. In this vein, and realizing the multilevel nature of TIP, the authors unpack the roles of the state at three complementary governance levels considering the role of actors such as institutional entrepreneurs. This chapter studies the energy transformation from Uruguay and the policy of social appropriation of science, technology and innovation from Colombia. These two cases follow the case study research method using data from legal regulations, policy, academic and technical documents, and interviews with actors involved in the cases. This work brings twofold results. First, it reflects on the existence of nested governance configurations at the micro, meso, and macro levels that shape a non-monolithic state. Second, this study spotlighted the institutional weaknesses of the innovation systems governance and the distrust as elements that characterized states in the Global South.

Keywords: Transformative Innovation Policy; Nested Configurations; Innovation Governance; Energy Transitions; Social Appropriation of STI; Uruguay; Colombia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781839100253
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