The Role of the State in University Science: Russia and China

Abstract

Research is now organised on the basis of a global science system, articulated by English language journals, which partly subsumes national systems and is the source of most innovations. To be effective, national science institutions must be closely and continually engaged in, and contributing to, this global system. ‘Science and technology in one country’ is no longer a strategic option. Russian science is characterised by very low rates of publication, citation and joint international authorship, relative to system and university size. The total number of papers produced each year is declining. Only Lomonsov Moscow State University (LMSU) is ranked in the top 750 universities in the world on the volume of published science in English. Between 1995 and 2012, the number of internationally co-authored papers increased by 168 per cent worldwide but only by 35 per cent in Russia. The closed door to international links is a legacy of the Soviet period. The situation in Russia contrasts with the spectacular growth of science in China and East Asia, powered by active and focused states with an internationalisation drive. The article discusses the trajectory of East Asian science. While Russia cannot replicate the East Asian family or political culture, a vigorous internationalisation policy would kick-start the transformation of national science.