CHANGING CENTER-PERIPHERY RELATIONS IN THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS - THE CASE OF BYELARUS

The issues of science and technology policy in the Republic of Belarus are explored within the framework of centre-periphery theory. As a newly independent state, Belarus inherited a considerable scientific potential that was on the periphery of the Soviet research system. Now the socioeconomic crisis restricts the options for the development of science and technology in Belarus, and makes the situation uncertain. In these conditions, the government must play a strategic, coordinating role if it is to generate a research policy capable of meeting the country's social needs, and of overcoming its peripheral economic position. From a. comparative analysis of centre-periphery relations historically in Finland, one can expect in Belarus a gradual shift in the state's goals for science and technology policy, from national revival to modernization, and subsequently to full international economic competitiveness.