Author: Bacon, Edwin

Source: Europe-Asia Studies, Volume 64, Number 7, 1 September 2012 , pp. 1165-1189(25)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

The development of prediction and forecasting in the social sciences over the past century and more is closely linked with developments in Russia. The Soviet collapse undermined confidence in predictive capabilities, and scenario planning emerged as the dominant future-oriented methodology in area studies, including the study of Russia. Scenarists anticipate multiple futures rather than predicting one. The approach is too rarely critiqued. Building on an account of Russia-related forecasting in the twentieth century, analysis of two decades of scenarios reveals uniform accounts which downplay the insights of experts and of social science theory alike.

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2012.698046

Affiliations: Birkbeck College,

Publication date: September 1, 2012

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