Integration of higher education institutions in Azerbaijan and Russia: strategic di-mensions, regulatory frameworks and development prospects

Abstract

The integration of higher education systems in Azerbaijan and Russia is a phenomenon of singular relevance in the post-Soviet space, shaping dynamics of foreign policy, institutional development, and knowledge transfer. This article analyzes this integration from a multidimensional perspective that transcends the conventional diplomatic approach, incorporating analytical categories from the sociology of education, international political economy, and transnational governance studies. Through a systematic review of primary and secondary sources, the article examines the formal and informal mechanisms that structure bilateral academic cooperation, the institutional actors that sustain it, some incentives that drive it, and the tensions that condition it. It argues that higher education integration between the two countries cannot be understood solely as the result of intergovernmental agreements, but rather as a socially constructed process that responds to logics of identity, the labor market, student mobility, and soft power. The findings suggest that, despite regulatory advances, structural asymmetries persist that limit the full reciprocity of exchange and that consolidating this integration requires reforms in the systems of degree recognition, joint accreditation and shared financing.