The study of international political economy in Russia

Abstract

The author argues that international political economy (IPE), however prominent in the West, has not been established in Russia as an academic discipline. In the Russian policy community, the main debate is between liberal institutionalists, who advocate the country’s integration into the global economy, and the so-called dirigists, who promote relative economic autonomy. These two schools, however, only now begin to find their way in academia. Three main problems impede IPE development in Russia—the excessive separation of political science from economics, the deficit of theoretical generalization, and the weakness of educational curricula.

Conclusions: Wor(l)ds Beyond the West

“…The main contribution of the country-specific chapters is that give the reader a critical insight into national discourses on civilization and world order. In line with other works on "Russian IR" and the "Russian school", which have focused largely on the relationship between academia and broader articulations of post-Soviet Russia's national vision and civilization (Tsygankov 2003(Tsygankov , 2008Lebedeva 2004;Mukharyamov 2004;Shakleyina and Bogaturov 2004;Solovyev 2004;Tkachenko 2004;Tsygankov and Tsygankov 2004Morozov 2009;Sergounin 2009), Lydkin examines Russian worldings, or civilizational visions, as exemplified by three key Russian thinkers. Similarly, in the case of Chinese IR, Chen and Zhu discuss the four main theoretical approaches involved in the construction of a "Chinese School" exemplified by four individuals (Liang, Zhao, Yan and Qin) (Ren 2008;Noesselt 2012;Qin 2012;Wang and Buzan 2014).…”

The crisis of the “Liberal International Order” and the challenges from China and Russia

“…It explains establishment of LIO by presenting it as a 'side-effect' of promotion by a hegemonic state (Britain in XIX century and USA in XX century) its national interests at international arena. By opening its vast domestic market for primary goods and low-quality products from satellite-states, the hegemonic power is demanding in return opening of their domestic own markets for imported goods, services and capitals from all around the world, making international trade more open and less protectionist [1].…”

“…So, in June 2009 the praxis of the regular annual BRIC has started and it is still underway today. The first BRIC summit took place next day after summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, another important inter-governmental organization, where China and Russia are founding members 1 . In Yekaterinburg four BRIC leaders has adopted joint declaration, those fifteen points consistently centred on the repeatedly stated aspiration to establish a democratic and multipolar world order [37].…”

“…In our research, we apply a number of IPE research methods [1]. This discipline studies causes and effects of interplay between economic and political processes.…”