This book draws on extensive ethnographic research undertaken in Russia to show how the wider sociopolitical context – the political system, relationship between the state and academia as well as the contours of the public debate – shapes knowledge about international politics and influences scholars’ engagement with the policy world. Combining an in-depth study of the International Relations discipline in Russia with a robust methodological framework, the book demonstrates that context not only bears on epistemic and disciplinary practices but also conditions scholars’ engagement with the wider public and policymakers. This original study lends robust sociological foundations to the debate about knowledge in International Relations and the social sciences more broadly. In particular, the book questions contemporary thinking about the relationship between knowledge and politics by situating the university within, rather than abstracting it from the political setting. The monograph benefits from a comprehensive engagement with Russian-language literature in the Sociology of Knowledge and critical reading of International Relations scholarship published in Russia. This text will be of interest to scholars and students in International Relations, Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, the Sociology of Knowledge, Science and Technology Studies and Higher Education Studies. It will appeal to those researching the knowledge-policy nexus and knowledge production practices.

Information is considered essential in every business model. Effective usage of this information to direct goals and drive missions can lead to successful enterprises. Knowledge Integration Strategies for Entrepreneurship and Sustainability is a critical reference source that expounds upon the critical methods in which new information is integrated into existing models for starting new companies and the ways in which these models interact and affect each other. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as tacit knowledge utilization, knowledge retention in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and knowledge dynamics in supply chain management, this book is geared toward academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the effect of information management in the interdisciplinary world of business creation as well as enterprise stability and longevity.

Russian Realism analyzes Russian contemporary geopolitical thinking, or realism, and explores the notion of Derzhava as the foundation of Russian realism. The author defines Russian realists as all those favoring actions by the Russian state in defense of its interests, including protection of national sovereignty, security, power, and prestige on the international scene. What makes Russian realism distinct is its "vision of Russianness" formed by the country’s historical, cultural/religious experience, and its semi-peripheral position in the international system. The vision stresses the importance of survival, preservation of strong state, and protection of national interests from external infringement. Mainstream literature, especially in the West, tends to ignore Russian theoretical debates and narratives; this book remedies this by providing significant insights into Russian realist thinking. It explores the historical unfolding of the longstanding national debates about Russia’s role in Europe/the West and how realists have reframed these debates in response to multiple international and domestic developments. The book also identifies distinct groups and debates within the broad school of Russian realism. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Russian foreign policy, IR theory, diplomatic studies, political science, and European history. It will also appeal to a broader general audience of those interested in Russia and international politics.

In response to the challenges of globalization and local development, educational reforms are inevitably becoming one of the major trends in the Asia-Pacific Region or other parts of the world. Based on the most recent research and international observations, this book aims to present a new paradigm including various new concepts, frameworks and theories for reengineering education. This book has 21 chapters in three sections. Section I "New Paradigm of Educational Reform" containing eight chapters, illustrates the new paradigm and frameworks of reengineering education, fostering human development and analysing reform policies and also discusses the trends and challenges of educational reforms in the Asia-Pacific Region. Section II "New Paradigm of Educational Leadership" with five chapters aims to elaborate how the nature, role and practice of school leadership can be transformed towards a new paradigm and respond to the three waves of education reforms. Section III "Reengineering School Management for Effectiveness" with eight chapters aims to provide various practical frameworks for reengineering school management processes and implementing changes in school practices.

This handbook examines the study of international relations (IR) in Russia, giving a comprehensive analysis of historical, theoretic-conceptual, geographical, and institutional aspects. It identifies the place and role of Russia in global IR and discusses the factors that facilitate or impede the development of Russian IR studies. The contributors represent diverse Russian regions and IR schools and offer an overview of different intellectual traditions and key IR paradigms in the post-Soviet era. Filling the vacuum in international understanding of the Russian perspective on pivotal international issues, they demonstrate the continuity and change in Russia’s international policy course over the past three decades and explain how different foreign policy schools and concepts have affected Russian foreign policy making and the decision-making process. Providing a unique contribution to the discussion on non-Western IR theory, this handbook will appeal to scholars and students of international relations, Russian studies, world politics, and international studies.

This handbook presents a global overview of current research in education and education policy reforms during the last decade. It provides an accessible, practical and comparative source of current research that examines the intersecting and diverse discourses of this important issue. It first examines globalisation, education and policy research and reforms in higher education, including coverage of main trends in education and policy reforms globally, as well as specific policy issues such as gender, equity, minorities and human rights. Next, the handbook offers a comparative perspective that evaluates the ambivalent and problematic relationship between globalisation, the state and education reforms globally. It features coverage on curricula issues and education reforms in schools around the world, the curriculum in the global culture, as well as globalisation and education futures, with respect to social justice and human rights. The handbook contributes to a better and a more holistic understanding of the education reforms and research nexus—offering possible strategies for the effective and pragmatic policy planning and implementation at the local, regional and national levels. It will serve as a vital sourcebook of ideas for researchers, practitioners and policy makers in education.

The politicizing of facts and factual claims has led some to abandon all talk of a meaningful distinction between a fact and a strongly held political commitment. This book argues that what we need, instead, are better accounts of facts and their relationship to explanation—ones that take seriously the dependence of facts on communities of practice and on consensus procedures of measurement, but do not abandon the epistemic distinctiveness of facts. Bringing clarity and order to the discussion by disclosing both key commonalities and significant differences between the ways we talk about facts and explanations, Patrick Thaddeus Jackson argues that although intrinsically more contestable than facts, social-scientific explanations can nonetheless be related to them in ways that allow researchers to evaluate explanations based on whether and to what extent they accord with the relevant facts in each situation. Ardently defending a pragmatist account of knowledge that has no patience with either “alternative facts” or “anything goes” relativism, the author develops a set of concepts that enables tricky philosophical problems to be dissolved. After examining facts, causal explanations, and interpretive explanations, the book culminates in an account of the priority of interpretation in the evaluation of any explanation—and any seemingly factual claim. Defining the terms of the debate and grounding better conversations about the issues, this book will appeal to all scholars interested in the philosophy and methodology of the social sciences, international studies, international relations, security studies, and anyone teaching or studying research methods.

The "Russian Idea" in International Relations identifies different approaches within Russian Civilizational tradition — Russia’s nationally distinctive way of thinking — by situating them within IR literature and connecting them to practices of the country’s international relations. Civilizational ideas in IR theory express states’ cultural identification and stress religious traditions, social customs, and economic and political values. This book defines Russian civilizational ideas by two criteria: the values they stress and their global ambitions. The author identifies leading voices among those positioning Russia as an exceptional and globally significant system of values and traces their arguments across several centuries of the country’s development. In addition, the author explains how and why Russian civilizational ideas rise, fall, and are replaced by alternative ideas. The book identifies three schools of Russian civilizational thinking about international relations – Slavophiles, Communists, and Eurasianists. Each school focuses on Russia’s distinctive spiritual, social, and geographic roots, respectively. Each one is internally divided between those claiming Russia’s exceptionalism, potentially resulting in regional autarchy or imperial expansion, and those advocating the Russian Idea as global in its appeal. Those favoring the latter perspective have stressed Russia’s unique capacity for understanding different cultures and guarding the world against extremes of nationalism and hegemony in international relations. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Russian foreign policy, Russia–Western relations, IR theory, diplomatic studies, political science, and European history, including the history of ideas.

This volume draws together leading experts from academia, think-tanks and donor agencies, to examine the impact of transnational knowledge networks in the formulation of local, national and global policy in the field of international development and transition studies. These leading contributors pay particular attention to the global reach of research and the manner in which knowledge is incorporated into, and shapes, transnational policy domains. They show how the 'knowledge agenda' has become a central part of the discourse of both developing societies and advanced economies. Governments and international organizations devote considerable financial resources to both in-house and contracted research. This volume will be of great interest to students, researchers and policy makers concerned with global policy, global governance and development.

The Handbook on Universities and Regional Development offers a comprehensive and up-to-date insight into how academic institutions spur their surroundings. The volume sheds light on universities as regional development actors from a historical perspective by introducing institutional changes and discussing the interrelatedness of society, business and academia. It provides detailed investigations on various knowledge transfer mechanisms to help understand the diverse ways through which ideas and intellectual property can flow between universities and businesses. Detailed case studies from three continents (Europe, Asia, and America) demonstrate the highly contextual nature of the interactions between academia, industry and government.