CHAPTER 8 Russian Science Diplomacy Elena Kharitonova and Irina Prokhorenko Although science diplomacy is not a new foreign and public policy tool, its popularity has increased in recent years due to a number of factors. One such factor is that numerous traditional and new challenges faced by the international community require decisions and responses based on scien- tific evidence. Simultaneously, in the case of Russia and the West, relations have seriously deteriorated in the past several years and the scientific com- munity remains one of the few groups that is capable of bridging the gap. This community maintains connections, dialogue and personal contacts alive and is looking for solutions to common problems via track two diplo- macy. Russia has vast experience in using science and technology achieve- ments to improve its international image and interaction with other countries. Recently, Russia adopted a long-term strategy for the country’s science and technology development, which envisages using science diplo- macy as one of its public diplomacy tools. Regardless of intention, does Russia possess the institutions, the human and financial resources and the skills to achieve tangible results in this direction? This chapter focuses on Russia’s current and future science diplomacy potential. E. Kharitonova (*) • I. Prokhorenko Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s) 2020 133 A. A. Velikaya, G. Simons (eds.), Russia’s Public Diplomacy, Studies in Diplomacy and International Relations, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12874-6_8 134 E. KHARITONOVA AND I. PROKHORENKO SCIENCE DIPLOMACY IN RUSSIA: PRIORITIES, RESOURCES AND CONSTRAINTS It is almost impossible to discuss science diplomacy without referring to some episodes of Russian and Soviet history. Pierre-Bruno Ruffini, from Le Havre University, begins his book on science diplomacy by discussing the symbolic meaning of the scientific cooperation initiated by the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, in 1985. (Ruffini, 2017, p. 1). The influential report ‘New Frontiers in science diplomacy’ by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, United States) and the Royal Society (United Kingdom) starts with a brief history of science diplomacy that highlights East-West negotiations on nuclear non-proliferation, arms con- trol and other peace and security issues, where the influence of scientific communities was essential (Royal Society, 2010, p. V). Scientists have been playing a prominent role in Soviet and Russian foreign policy in for- mal and informal ways, be it by supporting government policy or by chal- lenging it. Their impact ranges from the promotion of the advantages of socialism and to the negotiation of milestone treaties and of international peace initiatives. Scientific achievements such as space exploration, or dis- coveries of new elements in the periodic table, were an important part of Soviet identity both within the country and abroad. Today, in the age of globalization, countries aspiring to benefit from the new world stratification and secure favorable strategic prospects must integrate themselves in the global economy and its infrastructure. When developing science and technology domestically, there is a need to build links with the international scientific community becomes a crucial foun- dation for this endeavor. The assessment of Russian science diplomacy resources is a complex task. Russia is the last of the top ten countries in the world ranked by gross domestic spending on R&D, measured in purchasing power parities (PPPs). In 2016, Russia’s R&D spending reached US$39.9 billion. The number of researchers and professionals engaged in science in the country is high: it is ranked fourth in the world with almost 429,000 people employed in the sector. And the same time the country ranks only 34th by gross domestic spending on R&D measured as a percentage of GDP (1.1%) and by number of researchers (in full-time equivalent) per 10,000 employed in the economy. It is 47th in terms of spending per researcher, substantially behind the leading nations. The number of publications and RUSSIAN SCIENCE DIPLOMACY 135 citations of Russian scientists indexed in Web of Science and Scopus is steadily growing, as well as the number of patent filings from Russia. There is a substantial share of publications co-authored with researchers from other countries—in 2016 around 25% of all publications. The wages in science organizations have substantially increased recently, by more than 50% from 2017 to 2018. At the same time, the Russian share in global publications output is still relatively low. In 2016, the proportion of Russian articles in peer-reviewed publications indexed by Web of Science or Scopus was 2.56% of all publications indexed that year, by which Russia ranked 14th in the world (Gorodnikova, Gokhberg, & Ditkovskij, 2018, pp. 268–271, 285–288). Today the term ‘science diplomacy’ is increasingly often used in Russia, especially among the academic community. In 2017, during the election campaign for the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), science diplomacy was mentioned in the manifesto of two out of five can- didates.1 The same year a prominent think tank, ‘Russian International Affairs Council’, organized an expert discussion on science diplomacy and Russian-American cooperation in the Arctic.2 In addition, the country’s leading foreign affairs university, MGIMO, hosted a round table on sci- ence diplomacy organized by the Royal Society and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR).3 In September of the same year, Andrei Fursenko, aide to the president of Russia, gave an interview where he stated that the importance of science diplomacy in growing.4 In late 2017, the Russian Academy of Sciences held a special session on science diplomacy 1 Vybory prezidenta Rossijskoj akademii nauk [The Election of the Russian Academy of Sciences President], The Russian Academy of Sciences official website,http://www.ras.ru/ news/shownews.aspx?id=95f7af2c-b6b8-4849-820a-6c64fc287c99 2 Nauchnaya diplomatiya: sotrudnichestvo Rossii i SSHА v Аrktike [Science Diplomacy: Russia-US Cooperation in the Arctic], Russian International Affairs Council, http://rus- siancouncil.ru/news/nauchnaya-diplomatiya-sotrudnichestvo-rossii-i-ssha-v- arktike/?sphrase_id=262533 3 Kruglyj stol Sovremennaya nauchnaya diplomatiya: opyt Rossii i Velikobritanii [Round Table ‘Contemporary Science Diplomacy: The Russian and UK Experience’], MGIMO, http://imi.mgimo.ru/ru/ob-institute/struktura/12-glavnaya/1078-kruglyj-stol-sovre- mennaya-nauchnaya-diplomatiya-opyt-rossii-i-velikobritanii.html 4 Brilev S., Fursenko: znachimost’ “nauchnoj diplomatii” rastet [Fursenko: The Role of Science Diplomacy is Growing], Vesti.ru, 2 September 2017, https://www.vesti.ru/doc. html?2927856&id=2927856 136 E. KHARITONOVA AND I. PROKHORENKO and international science cooperation5 and in January 2018 the newly elected president of the Academy presented a plan on the future of RAS to the president of Russia, highlighting the importance of science diploma- cy. 6 Further, science diplomacy was the major topic of the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council held in May 2018 in Moscow.7 But what exactly is science diplomacy and how can Russia benefit from using it in the twenty-first century? The widely accepted description put together by AAAS and the Royal Society encompasses three interrelated dimensions of science diplomacy: science in diplomacy (providing scien- tific, expert and analytical support to foreign policymakers),diplomacy for science (facilitating international scientific cooperation) and, finally,science for diplomacy (using scientific cooperation to improve relations between countries, including the so-called track 2 or track 1.5 diplomacy, in which think tanks play an important role) (Royal Society, 2010). Many activities can qualify as ‘science diplomacy’ under this broad definition. Ruffin from the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre argues that contexts in which the term ‘science diplomacy’ emerges are just as diverse as the actors: Science diplomacy thus is first and foremost a new umbrella term to charac- terize the role of science and technology in numerous policy fields that have an international, boundary-spanning, component. […] The idea of science diplomacy, then, provides a new, more strategic and—more or less—coher- ent framework to integrate existing instruments in international S&T poli- cymaking. (Ruffin, 2018) By influencing the international agenda, participating in diplomatic missions and establishing new contact networks, scientists create a new environment for international relations, in which politicians and diplomats need to take into account the opinions and interests of national and inter- national scientific communities. 5 Glava RАN rasskazal, kak povysit’ ehffektivnost’ nauchnoj diplomatii [The head of Russian Academy of Sciences Spoke About the Ways to Increases the Effectiveness of Science Diplomacy], RIA NOVOSTI, 10 October, 2017, https://ria.ru/society/20171010/ 1506532050.html 6 Sozaev-Gur’ev, E., RАN osvoit nauchnuyu diplomatiyu [RAS Will Master Science Diplomacy]. Izvestiya, 22 January 2018, https://iz.ru/698783/egor-sozaev-gurev/ ran-opredelili-rol 7 Global Research Council. 2018 Annual Meeting, https://www.globalresearchcouncil.