Comparative Analysis of Discourses Around Biometrics Regulation in Russia and the EU

The past few years have seen the world’s increased interest in biometric identification. It is especially curious in the case of biometric data collection policies in Russia and in the European Union because the policies of these 2 regions have been commonly aimed at improving the security of the state, combating crime and terrorism, and facilitating the existing processes. Despite a lot of similarities between the policies, there are also crucial differences. The main goal of this research is to analyze the main narratives of biometric policies in Russia and the EU. For it, the study will be provided with quantitative Content-Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis. The theoretical expectations are based on the theories of biopolitics and biopower, securitization and modernization, and the existing narratives in the regulatory contexts. During the empirical analysis it became clear that the theoretical expectations are met only partly.