International political thought: challenges and renewal. Dialogue of political scientists

The presented discussion addresses new challenges which political science and international studies face in the contemporary world: what is happening and what are the trends in their development? The authors approach these questions from two perspectives: that of the development of reality itself and that of the evolution of political science and international studies. It is noted that in the Soviet Union and in Western countries these fields evolved in different ways. In the 20th century, western political science and international studies developed largely parallel to each other, whereas in the USSR, there were only international relations, which were largely based on historical science. Political science as a separate academic and educational discipline did not exist in the Soviet Union, which resulted in numerous contradictory consequences, including negative ones. However, later in Russia, this did not lead to the formation of the rigid institutional barriers between the two disciplines – political science and international relations. In the Soviet Union, issues of international relations theory were studied largely through the lens of criticism of bourgeois doctrines. At the same time, for example, in MGIMO, IMEMO, and a number of other centres, theoretical questions were raised. The discussion shows that scientific knowledge is a product of a specific socio-cultural environment; it depends on language and cultural-historical meanings. At the same time, it is noted that it is inevitable to transcend the patterns established not only in the scientificbureaucratic dialect, but also in the description and comprehension of problems. Three more issues were raised during the discussion. Two of them are largely traditional. These are questions of theory and practice in research, as well as the relationship of scientists with authority, society and business. The third problem is a relatively new one: digital technologies and the way in which they affect, on the one hand, the world of politics, on the other – international research and political science.