Guest Lecture by Dr. Felix Riefer on Russia's Foreign Policy under Putin from 2000 to 2018

Foreign policy in Russia is presidential policy and is thus determined by the presidential administration. However, even the Kremlin understands that without a modern, research-based analysis infrastructure, it is no longer possible to shape policy in a globalized, increasingly complex world. Today, modern states are dependent on the analytical, advisory, brokerage, advocacy and lobbying activities of think tanks. What ideas are produced there? And more importantly, what influence do they have on the Kremlin's policy-making?

On October 21, 2024, speaker Dr. Felix Riefer presented the findings of his research on the activities and influence of Russian think tanks involved in shaping Moscow's foreign policy between the two fateful presidential elections of 2000 and 2018.

Dr. Felix Riefer studied political science, regional studies of Eastern and Central Europe and social sciences at the University of Cologne and the Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po). He is a member of the board of the Scientific Commission of Germans in and from Eastern Europe, Siberia, Central Asia and the Caucasus (WKDR) in Göttingen, the advisory board of the Lev Kopelev Forum in Cologne and the editorial board of the Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society in Hanover.

Chair of Political Communication with a Focus on Eastern Europe and the Post-Soviet Region