CORUSCANT
the European branch of the Russia Program
the European branch of the Russia Program
The Paris-based research collective CORUSCANT is rethinking research on Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine
We condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and call for the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty
A new network for Russian studies
Russia is now at the center of acute attention, yet, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has never been so inaccessible, and difficult to analyze. Faced with this challenge, we, political scientists, geographers, historians, and sociologists aim to rebuild Russian studies, and propose four objectives.
4 objectives
Renewing Russian Studies—Between Decentering and Refocusing
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has brutally exposed the need to thoroughly rethink our research themes, teaching methods and scientific practices. The decentering of Russian studies—while far from new—is more crucial than ever. Within Slavic or post-Soviet studies, Russian Studies are institutionally dominant over the studies of its (former) imperial territories. Many of our departments are still Russo-centric. These hierarchies have shaped our ways of thinking about power relations. They must be questioned, theoretically, but first of all in practice—in the ways we produce knowledge.
Towards a Dialogue with Policy Makers
While some progress has been made in recent years, we still deplore the lack of dialogue between academic research and political and strategic decision-makers in France and at the EU level, on Russian matters especially. The war in Ukraine has shown that this dialogue is needed more than ever. The speed at which military operations are evolving and the succession of “strategic surprises”, leaves little room for in-depth dialogue between researchers and civil servants who operate in a context of urgency. We believe that this dialogue is essential if we are to develop public expertise and policymaking based on scientific knowledge and not dictated by the media or social networks.
Creating an International Network for New Russian Studies
The scale and complexity of the crises caused by Russia makes it all the more necessary to network French and international researchers in order to build new Russian studies. Developing new methods largely relies on the sharing of information: databases, research tools or qualitative sources, etc. This also implies forging or renewing links with Russian researchers who are working on similar subjects and who have left Russia in large numbers in recent years. To meet this challenge, we aim to better integrate French research and institutions into networks sharing information and data relating to Russia that are active in Europe, the United States, and the world.
Training Russia Experts
CORUSCANT aims to provide a forum for lecturers to help them develop their training programs and better meet the needs of civil society, institutions and companies. This will involve organizing digital methods workshops for Master's students in the European Union, or running a seminar on new ways of teaching Russia after the "exogenous shock" of February 24, 2022.
CORUSCANT Study Groups
In order to advance these objectives, CORUSCANT has launched four thematic study groups.
- Ideological production of the regime
- Transformation of intellectual fields in Russia
- Transnationalization of intellectual and ideological fields
- European attitudes to Russia
History, memory, and arts
- Memory policies
- Plural memories : in the margins of official memory
- Arts and the construction of discourses on the past
Population and inequalities
- Demographic policies (natalism, family, immigration, health)
- Biopolitics and behaviour
- Gender, class, and ethno-racial inequalities
Elites, powers, and institutions
Digital Fieldworks–A New Toolbox for Russian Studies
In order to fulfill these four objectives, CORUSCANT is developing an ambitious program of digital tools. We need to confront head-on the enormous problem posed by the inaccessibility of Russia, which is threatening our knowledge of the country. This is why we are investing in both the sharing of accumulated resources, and digital methods inspired by OSINT. Training of ‘digital fieldworks’ for students and researchers will be among the first steps launched by the collective.
Upcoming events
Our team
- Dr Maxime AudinetResearch Fellow, Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM, Paris), lecturer, Paris Nanterre University.
Publications - Dr Julie DeschepperAssistant Professor in Heritage and Museum studies, Utrecht University.
Publications - Dr Clémentine FauconnierAssociate Professor in Political Science, University of Haute Alsace (Mulhouse).
Publications - Dr Kevin LimonierAssociate Professor in Slavic Studies, French Institute of Geopolitics, Université Paris 8
Publications - Appoline RoyPhD candidate, French Institute of Geopolitics, Université Paris 8.
- Morvan LallouetPhD candidate, University of Kent, CORUSCANT project-manager.
Publications
Latest publications
Partners
CORUSCANT supported by the following universities, research centres and institutions
