Abstract
This paper is concerned with the role of International Relations (IR) expertise and the academia–policy nexus in contemporary Russia. Drawing on interviews with Russia-based scholars, it posits that while there exist formal channels of knowledge diffusion between academia and the state, there is no clear-cut relationship between knowledge produced in academia and the uses of this knowledge by the state. Scholars’ attitudes towards policy impact, while generally skeptical, span a broad spectrum. Some are convinced that achieving impact is impossible, some declare unwillingness to interact with the policymaking world, while others find providing expert advice difficult but possible under certain conditions.
Highlights
English-language political science has developed a wide range of theories conceptualizing the relationship between academic knowledge and policymaking.1 In the discipline of International Relations (IR), Christian Bueger (2014), Bentley Allan (2017), Lorenzo Zambernardi (2016), and Beate Jahn (2017) provide a comprehensive recapitulation of the main arguments driving the debate about the knowledge– policy nexus
As one interviewee confessed: “To do this successfully I needed to make a reference to what Vladimir Putin had said” (R9). Such strategic quoting is seen as necessary to persuade lower and mid-level bureaucrats not to dismiss ideas straight away (R9). Scholars recognize that their role is difficult because, in their view, foreign-policy practitioners have a simplified view of academic expertise: “Foreign-policy practitioners regard International Relations as a new discipline that is excessively influenced by Western ideas” (R19)
This article has discussed the role of IR expertise and the academia–policy nexus in contemporary Russia
Summary
English-language political science has developed a wide range of theories conceptualizing the relationship between academic knowledge and policymaking.1 In the discipline of International Relations (IR), Christian Bueger (2014), Bentley Allan (2017), Lorenzo Zambernardi (2016), and Beate Jahn (2017) provide a comprehensive recapitulation of the main arguments driving the debate about the knowledge– policy nexus. It explores Russian academic views concerning the limitations and possibilities of contributing to the foreignpolicy-making process as well as institutional incentives and disincentives for policy impact.
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