Technological sovereignty of the Union State: Regional barriers and opportunities for interstate integration

Purpose: to assess the potential of interstate integration as a foundation for achieving technological sovereignty within the Union State.

Methods: the study is grounded оn systemic and spatial-economic approaches that conceptualize integration as a multilevel system of technological, production, and institutional interactions. An assessment of national approaches to technological sovereignty is conducted using a comparative analysis of academic literature and a macroeconomic analysis of indicators reflecting key factors of scientific and technological development. The potential for economic integration is evaluated through a structural analysis of mutual trade, a dynamic analysis of regional trade flows, and an institutional analysis of joint ventures.

Results: the findings identify distinct models of technological sovereignty within the Union State. The Russian model is characterized by large-scale public financing of science and the development of a domestic research base, while the Belarusian model is primarily based on enterprise-level innovation activity and industrial modernization. Analysis of the structure of mutual trade indicates increasing sectoral complementarity, particularly in mechanical engineering and the chemical industry, while hydrocarbons remain a key driver of economic convergence. Interstate integration demonstrates growing spatial concentration in capital cities and industrially developed regions. Institutional constraints remain, but coordinated actions and harmonization of standards contribute to reducing barriers to integration, creating a technological and economic platform for it.

Conclusions and Relevance: the study demonstrates that increased political tensions and sanctions pressure have intensified both similarities and differences in the models of technological sovereignty within the Union State, while simultaneously stimulating deeper economic integration. This is reflected in the convergence of trade relations, development strategies, and regional economic interaction toward more intensive contractual and industrial partnerships.

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