Ronan Hervouet

Ronan Hervouet is a university professor of sociology at the University of Bordeaux, affiliated with the Émile Durkheim Center, a leading research center in social sciences. He teaches the history of sociology and conducts comparative research on authoritarian regimes, with a deep specialization in Belarus. His work combines political science and ethnographic methods to explore the everyday lives of people under authoritarian rule.

His research focuses on ordinary relationships with politics in authoritarian contexts, particularly in Belarus, where he lived and worked for five years. He employs long-term ethnographic immersion, especially in rural kolkhozes, to analyze forms of loyalty, accommodation, indifference, and opposition to the regime. He is currently studying the 2020 uprising in Belarus, its repression, and the resulting exile, as well as the war in Ukraine’s impact on Belarusian diaspora.

His recent publications include books such as The Suspended Revolution (2023) and The Taste of Tyrants (2020), which offer a bottom-up perspective on life under Lukashenko’s regime. His articles in journals like Slavic Review and Canadian Slavonic Papers reveal a consistent focus on dignity, moral economy, and political subjectivity in repressive contexts.

Scientific recognition and media engagement:

• Featured expert on France Culture (programs: Cultures Monde, International Issues)
• Book presentations at Mollat and other public venues
• Referenced in connection with the Sakharov Prize for contributions to understanding Belarusian dissent

Ronan Hervouet actively contributes to public discourse on authoritarianism and political resistance. He has not disclosed specific grant funding, but his sustained fieldwork and publications suggest ongoing research support. He advises no named students in the provided texts but likely supervises graduate research given his senior academic role.

He is a core member of the Émile Durkheim Center, where he served as deputy director from 2016 to 2019, and co-directed the Franco-Belarusian Center for Political Science and European Studies in Minsk (2009–2012). His work bridges academic research and public sociology, making him a key expert on Belarus in the French and international academic community.