№ 5 - 2004
Yarulin I.F.
Political Science in Russian Far East: Condition and Prospects

On analyzing the condition of political science in the Far East, the author comes to the conclusion that in the region now all the “maladies” characteristic of Russian “provincial” political science, manifest themselves distinctly. The regional political science community consists of three poorly correlated categories: teachers at higher educational institutions, scientific workers at academic institutes, and political consultants; and it is only those belonging to the latter category that are in real demand. In the meantime, in the author’s judgment, urgent need for independent political knowledge makes itself felt in the region, which provides objective conditions for the consolidation of the political science community, and for the said community to master a new level. As for required base for such consolidation, he sees one in “institutional marginals”, i.e. in those researchers whose professional formation was proceeding outside the region and who have retained their connections with the “outer” community. Remaining outside the institutionally shaped groups of local political scientists, these researchers are in a position to organize regional discourse “to the contrary” — otherwise than in the textbook, otherwise than in the square, otherwise than in political technologies — and to lay the foundations of the Far-Eastern school of political science.