Risk studies at St. Petersburg State University: From tradition to new challenges

Abstract

The article examines the thirty-years’ experience in risk studies that has been acquired by scholars at St. Petersburg State University. The authors analyze the distance travelled from the first attempts to integrate risk approach into Soviet sociology to current research carried out at the intersection of conflict studies and risk studies approaches. Using classic research interpretations of risk and risk perception, such as “risk society” (U. Beck), “cultural theory” (M. Douglas, A. Wildavsky), “system theory” (N. Luhmann), the authors identify several features that distinguish the St. Petersburg University approach in risk studies, such as applying risk theory to the whole social system rather than isolated business or political cases. As an example of this approach to examining risk, the article presents the results of an all-Russian survey carried out by project group of St. Petersburg University in order to identify risk-reflections as a factor in conflict strategy choice. The collected data demonstrates that the integration of risk and conflict studies offers significant opportunities for highlighting the divergence of interests between producers and consumers of risks. At the same time, the original research strategy should facilitate the creation of a realistic model for the evaluation of effective political risk management. The authors conclude that the present phase of risk research by scholars at St. Petersburg University is characterized by the consolidation of conflict and risk studies that makes it possible, on the one hand, to investigate any risk as a conflicting phenomenon and, on the other hand, to examine risk perception as a special discursive practice which has a high manipulative potential.