Authors

Discussion

The disintegration of the Eastern Block and the Soviet Union entailed a division of its formerly unified industrial base and centrally-coordinated industry. Concurrently, it also resulted in a fragmentation of its formerly unified knowledge-base. Bulgaria, and Kazakhstan share a legacy of being members of this integrated economic and political space. However, the two states have diverged in their post-Soviet political-economic affiliations. Bulgaria has become a European Union (EU) member-state, with a regionally embedded economy. Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, is a founding member of the Eurasian Economic Union, a signatory of an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, and an active participant in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Empirical evidence confirms the importance of innovation for a country’s catch-up and that a well-functioning innovation system is critical for a country’s development. Conceiving of innovation as emerging from particular socio-technical systems, the analysis comparatively assesses the National Innovation (Eco)Systems policies of Bulgaria and Kazakhstan, evaluating the extent and nature of their similarities and differences.