In The Shadow Of Corruption: Problem Of Identifying Dysfunctions In Academic Community

Following the topic of methodological restrictions in the sociological study of corruption, the article attempts to identify corruption risks in a particular professional sphere in academic science. It is emphasized that unlike many other spheres of public life state and municipal government, education, and medicine corruption relations in the scientific community are not appeared as the subject of both scientific study and public interest very often. Due to the comparatively lower public attention, and the less obvious social significance of the results of scientific activity, science in many studies is not even mentioned among the spheres of big corruption, which, of course, does not mean it is not invulnerable to corruption processes.That is why, in studying the corruption risks in the science not only external assessments are important, but also a look"from the inside".Therefore, the main provisions presented in the article are based both on the analysis of data from open sources, and on the reflection of the representatives of the scientific community themselves, identified in an empirical study of the transformation of the regional academic community in one of the Russian regions Udmurt Republic.The article analyzes the practice of falsification of dissertations, the risks of falsification in the publishing sphere, as well as the mechanisms for the distribution of grants and other forms of financial support for scientific research as the main risk aspects. It is emphasized that these risks do not necessarily imply corruption in the literal sense since they can be behind of all kinds of dysfunctions of academic system dishonesty, plagiarism, unfair distribution of funding, imitation of scientific work, etc. Since the analyzed practices are mostly carried out at the borders of the academic world, primarily in the relationship of science with the system of state distribution of material and symbolic resources, it is emphasized that these dysfunctions have a greater effect on the system of professional norms and expectations within the community and beyond, placing science in a kind of "shadow" of corrupt expectations.Accordingly, the article concludes that corruption processes in science influence the development of scientific resources not directly, but indirectly through lowering standards of scientific work, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, by reducing the professional motivation of the scientists themselves, who find themselves in a position of disorientation, and increasing isolation from public resources.