International Knowledge Transfer in the Context of Political Process: The Role of Causal Mechanisms
Keywords:
Knowledge transfer, globalization, political process, causal mechanisms, social policy.Abstract
The article analyzes the role of knowledge as one of the most important conditions for policy transfer at the international level. The dynamics of knowledge transfer shows how actors in the political process transform goals and means of policy as a result of acquisition of a new knowledge. It is noted that during periods of structural transformation, there is an increased interest in the interaction between knowledge transfer and policy change, and different configurations of such a process are possible. This is confirmed by the example of the role of knowledge transferred at the beginning of reforms in the post-Soviet space, primarily the success or failure of such transfer. To designate such processes, it is proposed to use the term “knowledge transfer” as a complex of various types of activities and mechanisms that promote (ensure) the dissemination and use of knowledge in a particular area of society. Three main themes structure the content of the article, namely the analysis of the terminological apparatus and features of linguistic research communication when considering knowledge transfer in the context of global and national strategies; methodological approaches to international knowledge exchange as the basis for promoting political decisions, its methods and actors; the role of casual mechanisms in knowledge transfer in social sciences and the politics that ultimately determine practical outcomes. Based on the analysis of the modern discussion about the role of causal mechanisms in global politics, they are conceptualized in the article as events that lie between the input (knowledge transfer) and the output (making / not making a political decision), explaining the logical connections within the process. At the same time, there is need to intensify the discussion about the ways of knowledge transfer as well as important role of causal mechanisms in explaining modern dynamics of the transfer/dissemination of knowledge and politics.
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