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An­drzej Turkowski

Postdoc

Emner
Internationale relationer Velfærd Sociologi Europa Østeuropa

Primary research areas

Elite stud­ies
Study­ing who and how wields power in mod­ern West­ern so­ci­et­ies
Post-com­mun­ism
Study­ing the geo­pol­it­ic­al trans­form­a­tions and their ef­fects in East­ern Europe
So­ci­ology of know­ledge
Study­ing the pro­duc­tion of know­ledge in the con­text of power and in­equal­it­ies

Mak­ing the most of aca­demia to ask un­set­tling ques­tions

I am a sociologist and political scientist studying contemporary elites through the lens of inequality and power relations, with a particular focus on Eastern and Central Europe. My work also examines how knowledge and expertise are embedded in social relations and shaped by historical and geopolitical processes. Empirically, I have researched foreign policy experts and commentators, government ministers, scholars of underdevelopment, and social movements. 

I graduated from the University of Warsaw, where I worked until 2024. Earlier in my career, I collaborated with the Polish Institute of International Affairs, the Center for International Relations, and the KARTA Center Foundation, as well as other organizations. Before turning to academia, my professional adventures included a food factory and, briefly, Subway—where I served as an (un)certified “sandwich artist.” I am currently a member of the project Moral Elites: The Historical Positioning of Civil Society Leaders in National Moral Economies (MORALITES)

Recent research projects

The Pol­ish ex­ec­ut­ive: so­cial back­ground, ca­reers and re­sources of its mem­bers

This pro­ject ex­am­ines the com­pos­i­tion of Po­land’s ex­ec­ut­ive elites after 1989, fo­cus­ing on their so­cial ori­gins, ca­reer tra­ject­or­ies, and re­sources. In­spired by Bour­dieu’s field the­ory, it ana­lyzes how these elites po­s­i­tion them­selves and how the Pol­ish field of power has evolved in the post-com­mun­ist peri­od.