Stephen Fortescue is the Deputy President of the University’s Academic Board and Director of Postgraduate Research for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He is a political scientist in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies, whose research is focused on the contemporary Russian policy-making process and the Russian mining and metals industry.

Stephen’s most recent monograph is Russia’s Oil Barons and Metal Magnates (2006, Palgrave) which offers an analysis of the role of the so-called oligarchs in the post-Soviet Russian political economy. His next book is to be on the relationship between personalist and institutionalized politics in Russian policy-making, with taxation as the main case study. He publishes regularly on a wide range of issues related to Russian mining and metals. He currently supervises research students working on the Russian gas industry, environmental policy in Russia, and on various business and politics topics not related to Russia.

Research Areas

Russian politics, business and politics, resource politics

Current Research Projects

Personalist vs institutionalized politics in contemporary Russian policy making
Two views of Russia exist: a patrimonial state dominated by personal relationships and characterised by highly informal behaviour, and a highly bureaucratised state swamped by rigid rules and procedures. The project seeks to determine in what circumstances one view dominates over the other, through a study of the processes, procedures and personnel of contemporary policy making.

Federal Russian politics: modernizing northern economies
With Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway; funded by Norwegian Research Council, 2011-2013. My contribution is on the contribution of the mining and metals industry to the modernisation of northern Russia.

Postgraduate Research Supervision

Areas of Supervision
Soviet and Russian topics, particularly related to the domestic political process, on business-government relations, and resource politics

Recent Postgraduate Research Completions

• Nan Li, PhD Politics & International Relations, 2007, Media politics: How is the media agenda of Chinese television set by the state, market, and civil society?
• Ion Urs, PhD Politics & International Relations, 2007, The empowerment of aggressive state ideology in two periods of Russian history

Current Postgraduate Research Supervision

• Ludmilla Khodai, PhD Politics & International Relations, Pipeline policies of Russia's Gazprom
• Sharon Springell, PhD Politics & International Relations, In search of the national interest: FDI policy under the Howard Government
• Yolande Naomi Kyngdon, PhD International Studies & Global Transformation, The ethical trade of diamonds

Teaching

Teaching areas
Soviet and Russian topics, Business and politics, Resource politics