The changing field of foreign policy expertise in Russia: Between politics and the public sphere

What does it mean to be a foreign policy expert in Russia? How has the social position of such figures evolved over time? Should they be understood as extensions of the state, or as actors within civil society? This presentation traces the historical development of Russia’s foreign policy expert community through the case of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP) and its evolving membership. Drawing on a Bourdieusian framework, it conceptualizes experts not as individuals defined by intrinsic knowledge or technical skill, but as social actors mediating between distinct fields, most notably, the state and the public sphere. Rather than treating their authority as fixed or self-evident, the analysis highlights how it is shaped by broader institutional and political configurations. In the 1990s, SVOP played a selective but influential role in policymaking, largely due to the administrative and political roles held by many of its members. Over time, however, the Council has shifted its focus. Today, it primarily engages in what might be called “enlightenment functions”: organizing publications, lectures, and educational initiatives. In doing so, it has played a key role in the ongoing “professionalization” of Russia’s foreign policy community. The presentation concludes with a central paradox: the increasing concentration of political power in the Kremlin has, ironically, expanded SVOP’s autonomy as a civil society organization.

Speaker:
Dr. Alexander Graef, Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH). 

Presidence: 
Juliette Faure, chargée de recherche postdoctorale (FNRS-Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Discussant:
Pierre-Louis Six, chercheur postdoctoral au CIENS (ENS-PSL) et chercheur associé au CERSA.