While the number of non-tariff barriers in the world is rising, the EAEU is pursuing a decrease of NTBs – and alignment of technical standards with the EU. However, immediate benefits to European companies have not yet materialised.

Involvement in the global innovation system and the level of ICT influence the technologicalstateoftheBrazil,Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries and their position in the world economy. Many studies were inspired that examined these economies from various prospective. However, only a few have specially focused on information and communication technologies (ICT), and particularly in services sectors. This paper aims to contribute to the analysis of the evolution of services ICT systems in BRICS. The main hypothesis of the article is that BRICS has made significant progress in economic cooperation, at the same time, the group has not been equally successful in designing and implementing their own agenda in the technology field. The BRICS are not released at a sufficient level of interaction and advocacy in ICT services, which would increase their role in international trade. The authors observe the retrospective of the process of formation of national innovation systems of thecountry participants of BRICS, consider current trends and challenges in the development of national markets for these services in each member country,and highlight future directions for the development. Then they provide an analysis of BRICS countries’ participation in the international ICT services trade. An estimation of revealed comparative advantage indicators allowed determining the dynamics in comparative advantage for ICT service trade in BRICS. Despite the increase in the volumeof export operations in the trade in ICT services, their level of competitiveness is declining. The most vulnerable to the reduction of revealed comparative advantage was India, at the same time Brazil and South Africa showed the least volatile dynamics. It is argued that the policies aimed at promoting investment and enhancing conditions for trade in ICT services contributed significantly to services exports expansion in BRICS. Based on the analysis, a conclusion is made about the current problems and insufficient level of technical cooperation within the group.

In May 2019 we will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the 25th anniversary of the idea of modern Eurasian integration. Since then, the Eurasian Economic Union established itself as a quite successfully developing, open and attractive integration block, which has indeed become the indisputable reality of the economic processes in Eurasia. Perhaps enough time has passed so that we might begin to think about a “theory of Eurasian integration” in itself, as well as to outline its potential contents.

The research on technical regulations and standards highlights that the EAEU is already implementing many EU standards as the basis for reforming and modernizing its former GOST regulations and standards. In addition the EAEU is adopting many standards of the international standards organizations (ISO, IEC, ITU), which work very closely in partnership with the European standards organizations (CEN, CENELEC, ETSI), such that international and European standards are to a large degree identical. This means that the legal and technical infrastructure for non-tariff barriers of the two parties is already converging. This makes non-tariff barriers a potentially fertile field for cooperation between the EU and EAEU, which in turn could mean easier access to markets and increased mutual trade. In this case, the potential format and extent of cooperation could extend to include a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Conformity Assessment, through to the most ambitious formula (in EU practice) of the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA). Such arrangements would in principle ideally form part of a free trade agreement. Such scenarios can be technically specified, but of course they would have to rely on demanding political conditions which today are not satisfied.  

Introduction. The paper describes the role of Russian transnational corporations in the development and implementation of the Adults’ Education and Vocational Education and Trainings programs in foreign countries as the promotion of Russian technologies. As the competition between the universities in the international educational markets rises, they see the increasing need for the fixation of the programs they offer onto the needs of the global companies, broadening the possibilities for the students to obtain relevant qualifications and skills, and corresponding diversification of educational programs. Among the possible directions for the increase in the educational services that are offered for export could be adults’ educational programs, vocational education and trainings. Materials and Methods. The study of the additional vocational education programs for foreign students was carried out with specialized questionnaire. 180 higher education institutions took part in the survey. The analysis of the corporate segment of additional professional education services for foreign markets was carried out on the basis of semi-formalized in-depth expert interviews. Results. Based on the collected empirical data we were able to identify main participants of the Adults’ Education and Vocational Education and Trainings export and structure and spheres of the programs as well as target countries in this market in three years’ time. It was revealed that the most successful providers of the educational programs are the universities that on the one hand offer already well developed and sought-after educational programs on the Russian Adults’ Education and Vocational Education and Trainings market, and on the other hand – already have stable partnership ties with countries that send students to undergraduate programs.

Discussion and Conclusion. This study elaborates on the role of universities in promoting competitive technologies through the distribution of Adults’ Education and Vocational Education and Trainings. Mechanisms for formation and implementation of corporate training programs by universities for Russian industrial corporations are structured. Barriers for the attraction of foreign students are discussed to increase the scope of training. Results of the study can be recommended for the universities concerned with the development of the Adults’ Education and Vocational Education and Trainings sector in the international context.

In connection with a number of significant events that took place in May 2018, the HSE research group offers readers a special edition of the Eurasian Panorama devoted to the analysis of the four directions of Eurasian integration.

On May 14, 2018, at the summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, Moldova became the first country to be granted the status of an observer state with the EAEU. What gives such a status, in what conditions was it granted and what can be done to fill it with content?

On May 17, 2018, at the Astana Economic Forum, two strategic agreements were signed: one on the establishment of a temporary free trade area with Iran, and one on trade and economic cooperation with China. What is the essence of and are the differences between these agreements, and what will they give to the Eurasian business community?

 From May 23 to May 26, 2018, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held. This year the main topic of the business forum was the digital economy, including, in Eurasian integration. How to correctly implement the digitalization of the Eurasian Union?

In addition, the Eurasian Economic Commission made public the results of the first two years of participation of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan in the Eurasian Economic Union, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna (Austria) presented research papers on the harmonization of technical regulation systems, increasing foreign direct investment and developing transport communications between the EU and the EAEU.

 These topics are covered in detail in this special issue.

This month is also exactly four years from May 29, 2014 - the date of signing the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. We have the honor to congratulate you on this anniversary!

In this article the author attempts to distinguish the concept of the integration-consciousness in the modern processes of supranational integration. The relevance of this concept, as an integral part of a broader scientific category of the foreign policy-consciousness, is due to the growing role of ideology in integration processes. In article has done a comparative analysis of the ideological components of the two integration systems — the EU and the EEU. It is noted that in Europe and in Russia the influence of the integration on the sociocultural and foreign policy attitudes of citizens is constantly growing. At the same time, in the situation of the so-called “Cold War 2.0”, the perception of integration processes at the level of ideological discourses is becoming increasingly massive and populist. The author comes to the conclusion that the concept of the integration-consciousness has a significant impact on the dynamics of the modern integration processes. One of the main author’s finding is that for Russia within the framework of the EEU the integration-consciousness might play an important role in the much needed geographical diversification of the integration strategy.

This article provides a review of theses presented at the round table “The Strategy of Sustainable Development in the Context of 21st c. Political Processes,” held at the Lomonosov Moscow State University Department of Political Science in conjunction with the V International Scholarly Congress “Global Studies-2017” (Moscow, September 25-30, 2017). Participants focused on the complex of political, philosophical, social and economic problems connected with the “sustainable development” category.

Purpose

This study aims to assess future prospects for Russian energy exports until 2040, as global energy markets are undergoing major changes, with possible impacts on Russia.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative and quantitative approaches are integrated under a proposed foresight framework. The qualitative method involves an expert survey aimed at identifying major energy trends and their influence on Russia. As the trends are validated, an algorithm is proposed to assess the contribution of separate trends to Russian energy exports.

Findings

Experimental quantitative scenarios are conducted to assess the prospects for Russian energy exports until 2040 under the given exogenous scenario calculations of the IEA. Factor analysis allows for an assessment of the contribution of separate factors in dynamics of net energy imports into the regional economies. The future prospects for fossil fuels’ exports on regional markets are considered. Priority markets for Russian energy exporters are identified.

Practical implications

The results of the paper may be used by decision-makers for adjustments in the system of government policy or corporate strategy.

Originality/value

The paper provides an algorithm to assess energy export flows to macroregions based upon the synthesis of quantitative and qualitative information. Experimental scenario calculations of the Russian fossil fuels’ exports are provided. Strategic decision-making map is elaborated.

The objective of this paper is to analyse the scope for improving the empirical and methodological foundation of global value chains (GVCs) research and for making relevant political decisions, primarily through applying Foresight methodology. The authors review the major trends of global value chains’ development, specific features of Russia’s participation in them, and the necessary steps to increase the quality and efficiency of this participation, in particular in the changing geopolitical context. Special attention was paid to the theoretical, methodological, and empirical aspects of GVC research which are far from adequate (we primarily mean international databases such as TiVA and WIOD developed with the participation of the OECD and the WTO): they need to be supplemented with advanced tools to improve their forecasting potential, as well as their practical and strategic orientation. To this end, approaches which would make it possible to research the interconnections between global processes and trends with regional and national innovation-based development tendencies become of crucial importance. Application of Foresight methodology may significantly contribute to researching the GVC phenomenon, being a major logical step towards creating advanced research and policy tools to mobilise available resources and coordinate stakeholders’ actions to increase global competitiveness. The paper presents several case studies which describe the practical application of Foresight methodology to analyse Russian participation in various GVCs, giving examples of specific product and service groups. The authors conclude that both full-scale Foresight studies and specific components thereof could be applied for the purposes of GVC analysis, strategic planning, and political decision making.

This paper is dedicated to the initiation and implementation of large-scale surveys in education field at different educational and age levels. In order to determine the feasibility of such surveys and their importance for the subsequent analysis of the obtained data, the authors reviewed the concept of "evaluation" and "assessment." The analysis of existing researches allowed to submit a classification of large-scale surveys on the basis of which different school surveys and their implementation in the Russian Federation were reviewed (PISA, PIRLS, TIMMS). The design features of such surveys are not only the data collection of the test results but also the collection of the context information. Moreover such results give an oppurtunity to look at the data on the international level, the successfulness of the country education policy, the population capabilities, the gaps in education process and activities and the competencies distribution among the population. The competencies here mean a person's ability to apply his/her knowledge in a variety of (new, unknown or familiar) contexts and real-life situations. The implementation of competency-based approach in forming the national education policy, the necessity of competencies forming and development are very important components for full inclusion in education sector at the national and international levels.

The objective of this paper is to analyse the scope for improving empirical and methodological foundation of global value chain (GVC) research and for making relevant political decisions, primarily through application of foresight methodology based on the latest trend to combine the approaches of global value chain and national innovation system research. The authors choose Russia as an illustrative case of an economy in the changing geopolitical context to review major trends of global value chains’ development, specific features of Russia’s participation in them, and the necessary steps to increase the quality and efficiency of this participation. Special attention was paid to theoretical, methodological, and empirical tools of GVC research and of making relevant political decisions—which presently are far from being adequate: they need to be supplemented with the new ones to improve the forecasting potential and practical and strategic orientation of the GVC approach. To this end, approaches which would make it possible to research interconnection between global processes and trends with regional and national innovation-based development tendencies become of crucial importance. Application of foresight methodology may significantly contribute to researching the GVC phenomenon, being a major logical step towards creating advanced policy tools to mobilise available resources and coordinate stakeholders’ actions to increase Russia’s global competitiveness. The paper presents a number of case studies which describe practical application of various foresight methodology components to analyse Russian participation in various GVCs, by the examples of specific product and service groups (fresh fruit and vegetables, car parts, mobile phones, air transport, electronic payment systems). The authors conclude that both full-scale foresight studies and specific components thereof could be applied for the purposes of GVC analysis, strategic planning, and making political decisions.