Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RuKNOW (Knowledge on International Relations in Russia)

Teaser

Russia is the EU’s third biggest trading partner and the key energy supplier but since 2014 has been placed primarily at the forefront of European security debates. The relationship with Russia is among the EU’s most important, influencing security and prosperity of Europe...

Summary

Russia is the EU’s third biggest trading partner and the key energy supplier but since 2014 has been placed primarily at the forefront of European security debates. The relationship with Russia is among the EU’s most important, influencing security and prosperity of Europe and its citizens.
For these reasons it is crucial to understand how the relationship with the EU is perceived, explained and acted upon in Russia. The project tackles this task by analysing the links between academic knowledge and the world of policymaking in Russia. In my research I want to understand how these two worlds interact with each other and how people and knowledge travel between them. The project’s original objectives include the identification of major concepts in the study of Russia-EU relations and dominant narratives on this bilateral relationship that have been produced by the policy world in Russia. I also ask what are the structures and frameworks of exchange between the academic and policy-making worlds in Russia and how the actual exchange of knowledge and expertise between these two proceeds.
The original scope of the project had to be broadened. In the course of my research, I understood that relations between academia and the policy world depend to a large extent on the socio-political context surrounding them. Unlike in China or Turkey, the Russian government has not openly stepped up its efforts to control research. However, specific limitations to academic freedom exist and shape attitudes of many scholars towards policy practitioners and influence their willingness to partake in the policymaking process.

Work performed

I have identified the key concepts, theoretical frameworks and empirical concerns in the Russian academic studies on Russia-EU relations. The analyses have evolved from optimism and positive descriptions of the EU towards exposing problem areas of the EU and in Russia-EU relations. Contemporary political discourse of the Russian authorities on the European Union generally downplays the role of Russia-EU economic and political ties and portrays the European Union as determined to deny Russia an equal standing in international affairs. The Russian discourse emphasised growing instability and chaos inside the EU, cast doubts on the viability of the integration project and focused primarily on the fragility and instability of the EU.
There exist numerous formal channels of knowledge exchange between academia and the state but there is no clear-cut relationship between knowledge produced in Russian academia and the uses of this knowledge by the Russian state. Scholars’ attitudes towards sharing their knowledge and research results, while generally sceptical, span a broad spectrum. Some are convinced that achieving impact on policy is impossible, some declare unwillingness to interact with the policy-making world, while others find providing expert advice difficult but possible under certain conditions.

Final results

The most important result of my research concerns the role of the socio-political context in shaping relations between academia and the policy world. This has been largely omitted in the existing literature on the policy relevance of knowledge.
Contrasting my research results with those presented in existing studies on Foreign Policy Analysis, I conclude that certain ‘technical’ requirements for gaining access to policy practitioners are similar in the US and Russia. These include an accessible format, the right timing, the ability to provide quick responses to unexpected events and the readiness to address policy failures. Several specific obstacles are also comparable, in particular scholars’ lack of familiarity with the particular needs of foreign policy bureaucracy and the government’s vested interest in a policy it has initiated.
However, due to a specific socio-political context in Russia, there are a number of obstacles to the exchange of knowledge between scholars and policy practitioners. Only those who are able to present their arguments in a way that does not directly and harshly criticise Russia’s foreign policy are interested in taking their arguments out into the world of public debate. Others are content with burying their insights in niche outlets or journals that the non-academic community has little access to, or ‘exporting’ them abroad by publishing in English-language journals.

Website & more info

More info: https://ruknow.com/project.