# Biopolitics - Sergei Prozorov | Ep. 10 (2026)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/biopolitics-sergei-prozorov-ep-10-2026
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/biopolitics-sergei-prozorov-ep-10-2026.md
Podcast: [The IR thinker](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770)
Published: 2026-04-28T14:59:29+00:00
Episode link: https://www.irthinker.com/biopolitics-sergei-prozorov
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914/e/69f0cb53f8c66377373e114b/media.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ir-thinker-6691770/episodes/biopolitics-sergei-prozorov-ep-10-2026
Duration seconds: 4067

## Resource

In this episode, I speak with Professor Sergei Prozorov about biopolitics, one of the most provocative frameworks in contemporary political theory, and how it reshapes our understanding of power, life, and death across IR, philosophy, and Soviet studies. From Foucault to Mbembe to Stalin, this is a conversation that cuts to the heart of how modern states govern human existence. Sergei Prozorov is Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. His research interests include contemporary political theory, continental philosophy, biopolitics, democracy and totalitarianism. Sergei’s work is positioned at the intersection of political philosophy, IR theory, and Soviet and post-Soviet studies, with sustained engagement with the thought of Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, and Roberto Esposito. During 2010–2015, Prozorov held the Academy of Finland Research Fellowship with the project Biopolitics of Stalinism. During 2015–2019, he served as Principal Investigator of the Academy of Finland project Biopolitics and Democracy in Global Governance.  Prozorov's work has accumulated over 2,800 citations on Google Scholar Google Scholar, reflecting his standing as one of the leading theorists of biopolitics in the international field. Peer assessments situate him among the most philosophically sophisticated scholars working at the intersection of IR and continental theory. His work represents one of the most ambitious re-articulations of the ontological and ethical foundations of universalism in contemporary political theory. Prozorov's latest book is Poses of the World , the third volume in his Void Universalism trilogy. Foucault, Freedom and Sovereignty Agamben and Politics: A Critical Introduction The Biopolitics o…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ir-thinker-6691770/episodes/biopolitics-sergei-prozorov-ep-10-2026/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/biopolitics-sergei-prozorov-ep-10-2026.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.