Science under Sanctions: the Experience of Iranian Universities

Abstract

The research article analyzes how science in Iranian universities has evolved during years of sanctions, and what Russian universities can learn from this experience. The study focuses on the periods, goals, and outcomes of the state science policy in Iran toward universities. The author has developed the typology of sanctions affecting scientific research in universities and systematized measures used to overcome them. This typology applies to Russian universities as well. The practices of Iranian universities aimed at overcoming sanctions have been verified and clarified using the data from an expert survey conducted among researchers of Iranian origin working in Russian universities.The analysis has shown that the government policy was oriented towards achieving quantitative goals, related mostly to publication activity and the inclusion of universities in international rankings. Later the emphasis shifted to strengthening the practical impact of university science, as well as to the development of international cooperation. Universities were able to increase the publication output but barely contributed to economic growth. Sanctions are the limiting factor, especially since universities had to find by themselves ways to overcome them. Iranian academic diaspora, especially in the United States, played an important role in this process, and Iranian universities manage to remain included in international scientific cooperation.The article may be of interest to researchers studying the problems of scientific development under sanctions, as well as to university managers dealing with international scientific cooperation.