Integrating plurality of external influences into comparative analysis: the example of research policies in the Baltics

Governance of research policies increasingly takes place in the context of globalization, and is of interest to various supranational institutions and impacted by intergovernmental-negotiated decisions. Most of the current works on research and development policy are placing European Union (EU) as the main explanatory factor in research policy developments; this is the case of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries which are considered to be especially opened to external influence. This brings along the growing tendency for methodological euro centrism and at the same time ignorance towards cultural differences of the Member States in comparative analysis. The aim of this proposal is to discuss the question of euro centrism in research policy with example of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian research policy developments during the years 1990 through 2014. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence in 1991, joined the EU in 2004 and can be considered in socio-economic sense one of the most successful in post-transitional development. Having shared a similar starting position, they now are actively integrating into the European Research Area by adapting their research and development policy strategies in accordance with EU´s policy objectives. However, these three countries differ considerably both linguistically and culturally which also reflects in the local cooperation practices. Thus, beyond EU, other institutional-territorial actors such as OECD, EU partners in economic cooperation and Nordic Council of Ministers have had an important role in the local policy developments. Estonia joined the OECD in 2010 while Latvia and Lithuania are still in accession process. EU partners in the economic cooperation have contributed by establishing different bilateral cooperation programmes: Lithuanian cooperation programme with Switzerland and Estonian and Latvian cooperation programme with Norway and Iceland. Nordic Council of Ministers has mostly contributed in Latvian policy developments. These actors have impacted local research policy through different resources such as funding, policy evaluations and recommendations. As a consequence, external influences are not the same among the three countries and we can distinguish European, International (OECD), but also intra-European regions (Nordic), and sometimes bilateral impacts on research policy. Shifting the focus from EU-centred approach to the interplay of multiple external influences, it will allow researchers to compare different research policies by avoiding methodological euro centrism and to take into account cultural aspects in comparative design. The empirical part of the proposal is based on document analysis and 30 interviews conducted from October 2015 to February 2016 in the respective organizations of all three countries and in the ministries and agencies responsible for research policy formulation and implementation.