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

随着欧洲联盟(欧盟)加强与东部邻国的接触，俄罗斯在共同邻国中的作用日益成为人们关注的焦点。然而，与欧盟的治理形成对比的是，人们对俄罗斯在其邻近地区推动的治理知之甚少。该项目旨在探讨俄罗斯如何以及在何种程度上向欧洲后苏联国家输出治理，以及它对欧盟地区治理体系的影响。该项目不仅寻求产生关于俄罗斯治理相关影响的亟需的实证数据，还将有助于就非西方国际参与者在促进海外治理方面的作用展开更广泛的学术和政策辩论。鉴于对这一主题缺乏系统和比较的实地研究(尽管它们对政策制定具有很高的影响)，该项目的结果可能不仅会引起学术界的兴趣，而且可能会引起非学术受众的兴趣，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输出地图，通过关注俄罗斯在“共同邻国”的三个后苏联国家，即乌克兰、亚美尼亚和白俄罗斯，从以下方面：(I)俄罗斯积极促进治理；(2)伙伴国对俄罗斯治理模式的接受程度(无论是通过积极促进和/或效仿)，以及(3)俄罗斯输出治理如何影响欧盟在该地区的外部治理或与之兼容的方式。因此，总体目标是在后苏联国家国内接受度的背景下研究俄罗斯输出治理的影响，目的是更清楚地描述任何新出现的(与)欧盟政策相容的情况。该项目利用了国际关系和政治学的概念工具，但重要的是，还利用了国际法和比较法以及俄罗斯和东欧研究。由此产生的理论综合试图抓住俄罗斯作为一个独一无二的崛起大国的影响力。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，治理的输出不是一个单向的过程，尽管权力不对称，但俄罗斯的邻国不仅仅是被动的接受者。因此，许多实证工作将涉及收集选定的后苏联国家的数据，以及在俄罗斯本身进行研究。该项目将集中在四个政策领域：A.能源、B.技术标准、C.税收管理改革和D.公司治理。之所以选择这些领域，是因为它们对英国、欧盟和包括俄罗斯在内的后苏联国家的重要性很高，而这些领域所在国家的选择(亚美尼亚、乌克兰和白俄罗斯)使研究人员能够全面了解俄罗斯的作用。因此，总体目标是在后苏联国家接受国内的背景下，考察俄罗斯输出治理的影响，目的是更清楚地描绘出任何新出现的(与)欧盟政策相容的情况。因此，该项目解决了关于俄罗斯作为后苏联空间区域大国的角色以及由此为欧盟创造的相互依存关系的棘手的分析和经验问题，并解决了“全球和区域治理和力量平衡”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'.