The Interaction of the Authorities and Experts in Russia: The State, Risks and Prospects

The methodology and organization of the interaction of the power and the expert community in the context of decreasing the risks of corruptibility in state and political decisions are investigated in this article. The “linearly-autonomous” model and the model of a “virtuous result” characterized by moral and ethical values and the status of the power and experts are analyzed. The factors influencing the specifics of the power and experts' interaction in Russia are revealed. Among them are traditions of the Soviet authoritarianism; a wide discretion of officials in questions of political and administrative decision-making; backwardness of the intellectual property right institution; insufficient demand of expert knowledge in Russian medium-sized business; a low level of the power and experts' interaction culture. It is shown that the cumulative action of these factors leads to a reproduction of the “paid result” model within which experts are attracted for approval of the power's decisions rather than for an independent objective assessment and work for a reward or an increase in the symbolical status. The international experience is investigated, features of “think tanks” genesis in Russia are revealed, and their classification is presented. A need for the development of “institutions of public policy” to improve the system of the power and experts' interaction system is reasoned. “Pro-power” and “democratic” forms of “public policy institutions” depending on the specifics of their genesis and resource opportunities are distinguished. It is shown that in rapidly developing countries “pro-power” public policy institutions will be efficient in the short-term period for such countries have authoritative traditions, and insufficiency of rules and norms of interaction in them is compensated by the top officials' wish to involve the public in process of transformations. This efficiency is reached for the account of the stand-alone nature of the centers' status, the centers' possibility to contact to the first person of the state, the mandate on the organization of the power and experts' interaction and non-departmental control of acceptance and execution of state decisions. At the same time, these factors increase the risk of bureaucratization of the “pro-power” public policy institutions. To avoid this, Russia must develop “public policy institutions” in the aspects of strengthening the civic network of the expert community, improving the forms and technologies of the power and experts' interaction.

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