Central & Eastern Europe
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Central & Eastern Europe Convergence and Divergence in “Europe’s Periphery” Think Tank Landscape Think Tank and Civil Societies Program Summer 2020 Central and Eastern Europe Research Team Jan Nowak, Project Lead Quynh Nguyen, Data and Presentation Curator Alexander Basescu Nadiia Dubchak Avraham Tsikhanovski Phillip Batov Italia Messina Dennis Ronel Anna Newnam Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………3 Central & Eastern Europe at a Glance……………………....4 Objectives………………………………………………………5 Methodology……………………………………………….......6 Analysis by Subregion Russian Federation……………………………………………...7 Finland………………………………………………………...17 The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania……………..25 Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova……………………………….36 Poland…………………………………………………………48 Hungary……………………………………………………….56 Czech Republic and Slovakia…………………………………64 Eastern Balkans: Romania and Bulgaria……………………...73 Western Balkans: The Former Yugoslavia and Albania………90 Summary: Key Takeaways………………………………...108 Bibliography………………………………………………...112 Introduction The Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region comprises all countries––with the addition of Finland––which spent the majority of the 20th century under communist and/or Soviet rule. The region’s shared communist legacies, post-Soviet shifts, rapid market transitions, and, in many cases, political instability have provided scholars in the last three decades with a plethora of contemporary case studies. Such examples include the development of civil society in newly established, liberal, formerly second world countries, but also of other, more nuanced policy questions. In particular, the prevalence of frozen conflicts, democratic backsliding, NATO and Russia’s tense relations, the European Union’s “Eastern Enlargement,” institutionalized corruption, and other policy concerns have come to dominate the policy discourse in these countries. Think tanks serve as critical organs and functionaries in a civil society by pioneering research that helps politicians and lawmakers alike make informed choices on impactful policy decisions, and it is for this reason that it is necessary to analyze and monitor the state of think tanks, especially in a region as diverse and fluid as CEE. Countries in the CEE region provide think tanks with decidedly diverse climates that impact the success or lack thereof of think tanks and research organizations. Despite the shared legacies and networks of think tanks, it is not possible characterize the region unilaterally; from the developed and thriving civil societies of Finland and Slovakia, to countries in illiberal transition such as Poland and Serbia, countries in frozen conflict such as Kosovo or Moldova, or authoritarian regimes as exist in Hungary, Belarus, and Russia, CEE’s diversity defines it. The region, despite its geographic compactness, produces unique challenges in this regard. While some countries and subregions in CEE are transparent and encourage the success of civil society within their borders, other countries create barriers to a successful civil society, which impedes the work of think tanks by means of chronic underfunding and other official and unofficial means. In creating a landscape analysis of the region, the Summer 2020 CEE Research Team has analyzed think tanks by country based on the following factors: quantity, location, research focus, bias, publication trends, institutional affiliation, staff size, year of founding, and yearly budget size. Although many CEE think tanks are not transparent regarding information such as staff or budget size––or simply have very little to no online/public presence––through a combination of a macroanalysis of all identified 692 think tanks in the region and the use of representative samples, our research team has managed to create a comprehensive analysis of the nature of think tanks by country throughout the region. Central & Eastern Europe at a Glance Objectives 1. To create a comprehensive update of the identified think tanks in Central & Eastern Europe from the TTCSP 2019 Global Go To Index Report 2. To identify the nature of the think tank climate in the Central & Eastern Region by country and to answer the following questions: What are the primary research focuses of think tanks in CEE? What issues currently face think tanks in CEE? What are the trends that have shaped the think tank climate in each country in the CEE region? 3. To analyze through qualitative and quantitative measures the nature the nature of research and policy discourse among think tanks in the CEE region Methodology 1. In order to create a revised and updated list of all think tanks in the CEE region, the CEE Research Team has verified the existence of listed think tanks on the following criteria: a. Online presence and the existence of their website by means of ownership of their web domain b. Verification of existence/closure from other think tanks and think tank executives c. Intensive research of any media or publication mentions of think tanks to indicate their activity (or lack thereof) outside of traditional online channels 2. In order to analyze the think tank climate and trends per country, the CEE Research Team has conducted a qualitative analysis on the following criteria: a. Historical analysis of public policy research and the activities of research institutions ranging to the early 20th century b. Literature review of think tank activities and the state of civil society in each CEE country 3. In order to analyze the nature of the research discourse, the CEE Research Team has conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis on the following criteria: a. Creation of a compilation of think tank publications from September 2019 to July 2020, by CEE subregion, and sorting by larger subject matter b. Think tanks were chosen to have their publications analyzed based on their ranking in the 2019 TTCSP Global Go To Index Index, their subjective prestige and activity within their own subregion, rate of publicly available online publications, and thematic/institutional diversity Russian Federation: The Suppression of Multiple Narratives in an Increasingly Authoritarian State Background: The direct translation for “think tank” into Russian is a complex subject in the academic community. Many researchers and foreign policy experts opt for the comprehensive term «аналитический центр» (translating into English as “analytical center”), while the literal translation «мозговой центр» – among others like «фабрика мысли» (thought factory) «мозговой трест» (brain trust) – is just as acceptable. A lack of a solely-used unifying term for “think tanks” does not, however, adequately reflect on the important role that these institutions play in the policy making process, and assessing the socio-economic ramifications of political decisions in Russia. While Russian rules prohibit these institutions from directly influencing political decision-making, it is evident that their debates and activity have set in motion the parameters for foreign policy measures, and formed the elites’ and public’s perceptions on internal and external political environments throughout history. Especially in times of crisis, the link between think tanks’ policy recommendations and Russian policy making is visibly direct. Russian think tanks have been greatly shaped by the nation’s disparate regimes, from pre- Soviet monarchy to a contemporary presidential republic. Throughout history, major events have dictated the structures of emerging analytical institutions as well as their chief areas of focus; such pivotal moments include the Russian Civil War, Krushchev’s Thaw, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and Vladimir Putin’s consolidation of power throughout the 2000s. *Data Excludes Think Tanks that are no longer active The earliest evidence of think tanks in Russia dates back to the early 19th century. Institutions like the Institute of Oriental Studies (IVRAN) have roots as early as 1818, during which they were prominent museums or academies that evolved to their status as think tanks today. Generally, think tanks in Russia could be classified as one of three groups depending on factors such as ownership, funding, and how they evolved historically: academic and university- affiliated, privatized, and state-sponsored. With exception to the more historic organizations, many modern think tanks saw their rise in the late 1950s and 1960s during Kruschev’s Thaw. In these two decades, think tanks were most commonly academic, state-funded institutions, encompassing research institutes founded in the system of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and state universities (such as MGIMO) oriented on studying foreign policy and international relations. Many of these centers that are government managed are referred to as GONGOs (Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organization), in which they are run by the state with an intent to further political interests, but advertised as semi-independent.1 Such institutions are distinguishable by their funding; financial support may come from the state, but also from other sources such as foreign grants. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, many scholars, journalists, and military officers established an emerging sector of private think tanks. Despite political pressure causing many to close their doors, some of these institutions are still in operation to this day. With shifting political ideologies in post-Soviet Russia, these centers differentiated themselves by completing work on contract basis, maintaining an aspiration