Russia and the EU in the Common Neighbourhood: Export of Governance and Legal (In)Compatibility

随着欧洲联盟（欧盟）加强与东方邻国的接触，俄罗斯在共同邻国中的作用日益受到关注。然而，与欧盟的治理相比，俄罗斯在其周边地区推行的治理却鲜为人知。该项目旨在探讨俄罗斯如何以及以何种效果参与向欧洲后苏联国家输出治理及其对欧盟区域治理体系的影响。该项目旨在不仅产生俄罗斯的治理相关的影响，但也有助于更广泛的学术和政策辩论的作用，非西方国际行为体在促进国外治理急需的经验数据。鉴于缺乏关于这一问题的系统和比较性实地研究，（尽管它们对政策制定有很大影响），该项目的结果可能不仅会引起学术界的兴趣，而且会引起非学术界受众的兴趣，例如，英国和欧盟的政策制定者和商业专业人士。该项目被认为是俄罗斯的治理出口的地图，重点是三个后-“共同邻国”中的苏联国家，即乌克兰，亚美尼亚和白俄罗斯，（i）俄罗斯积极促进治理，（ii）伙伴国家对俄罗斯治理模板的接受程度（无论是通过积极推广和/或效仿），以及（iii）俄罗斯的治理输出（如果有的话）如何影响，或与之兼容，欧盟在该地区的外部治理。因此，总体目标是研究俄罗斯的出口治理的影响，在国内接受的背景下，在苏联解体后的国家，更清楚地描绘任何新兴的（在）与欧盟的政策兼容性的目的。该项目借鉴了国际关系和政治学的概念工具，但也很重要的是，在国际法和比较法，俄罗斯和东欧研究。由此产生的理论综合试图捕捉俄罗斯作为一个独特的崛起力量的影响力，与西方国家和国际组织不同，俄罗斯的特点是法治薄弱，商业利益渗透，以及对非正式规则的强烈依赖。与此同时，治理输出不是一个单向的过程，尽管存在实力不对称，但俄罗斯的邻国不仅仅是被动的接受者。因此，除了对俄罗斯本身进行研究外，大部分实证工作将涉及在选定的后苏联国家收集数据。该项目将集中在四个政策领域：a.能量，B.技术标准，C。税收征管的改革;公司治理选择这些领域是因为它们对英国，欧盟和后苏联国家（包括俄罗斯）具有高度的重要性，而选择这些领域的国家（亚美尼亚，乌克兰和白俄罗斯）可以让研究人员全面了解俄罗斯的作用。因此，总体目标是审查俄罗斯的出口治理的影响，在后苏联国家的国内接受的背景下，更清楚地描绘任何新兴的（在）与欧盟的政策兼容性的目的。因此，该项目处理困难的分析和经验问题，俄罗斯作为一个地区大国在后苏联空间的作用，这为欧盟创造了相互依存关系，并解决了“全球和地区治理和权力平衡”的主题。

As the European Union (EU) has stepped up its engagement with the Eastern neighbours, the role of Russia in the common neighbourhood has increasingly come into the spotlight. Yet, in contrast to the EU's governance, little is known of governance promoted by Russia in its vicinity. The project aims to explore how and with what effect Russia engages in the export of governance to the post-Soviet states in Europe and its implications for the EU's system of regional governance. The project seeks not only to generate much needed empirical data on Russia's governance-related influences but also to contribute to a wider scholarly and policy debate on the role of non-western international actors in promotion of governance abroad. Given the paucity of systematic and comparative field research on the subject (despite their high implications for policy making), the results of the project are likely to be of interest not just to academic communities but also a non-academic audience, e.g. British and EU policy-makers and business professionals.The project is conceived as mapping of Russia's export of governance by focussing on three post-Soviet states in the 'common neighbourhood', namely Ukraine, Armenia and Belarus, in terms of (i) Russia's active promotion of governance, (ii) partner countries' receptivity to Russia's governance templates (whether through active promotion and/or emulation), and (iii) ways in which (if any) Russia's export of governance affects, or is compatible with, the EU's external governance in the region. The overall objective is thus to examine the impact of Russia's export of governance against the backdrop of domestic receptivity in the post-Soviet countries with the aim of delineating more clearly any emerging (in)compatibility with EU's policies.The project draws on conceptual tools of international relations and political science but also, importantly, on international and comparative law and Russian and East European Studies. The resulting theoretical synthesis seeks to capture Russia's influence as a sui generis rising power which, unlike western states and international organisations, is characterised by a weak rule of law, penetration by business interests, and a strong reliance on informal rules. At the same time, export of governance is not a unidirectional process and, despite asymmetries of power, Russia's neighbours are not merely passive recipients. Therefore, much of the empirical work will involve collecting data in the selected post-Soviet states in addition to conducting research in/on Russia itself.The project will focus on four policy fields: a. energy, b. technical standards, c. reform of the tax administration and d. corporate governance. These fields are selected because of their high salience for the UK, the EU and the post-Soviet countries, including Russia, while the choice of countries in which these fields are examined (Armenia, Ukraine and Belarus) allows the researchers to develop a comprehensive picture of Russia's role. The overall objective is thus to examine the impact of Russia's export of governance against the backdrop of domestic receptivity in the post-Soviet countries with the aim of delineating more clearly any emerging (in)compatibility with the EU's policies. Thus, the project tackles difficult analytical and empirical issues as to the role of Russia as a regional power in the post-Soviet space, and the interdependences this creates for the EU and addresses the theme of 'Global and regional governance and the balance of power'.