On New Approaches to the Study of the Russian Legal Sphere: The Role of Pierre Bourdieu’s “Legal Field”
( Pp. 170-178)
More about authors
Sobolevskaya Yulia V.
Cand. Sci. (Law), master’s degree in Sociology, 2nd Class State Councillor of the Russian Federation; Head, Department of Sociological and Legal Studies
Moscow Institute of Sociological Research (ANO MISI)
Moscow, Russian Federation
Moscow Institute of Sociological Research (ANO MISI)
Moscow, Russian Federation
Abstract:
The purpose of the article is to reveal, evaluate and apply the ideas, principles and conceptual apparatus of Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the legal field from the standpoint of sociological science to comprehend the Russian socio–legal reality. The specificity and novelty are determined, firstly, by attention to the little-studied aspects of P. Bourdieu’s sociological ideas, and secondly, by an attempt to reveal the heuristic potential of the concept for analyzing the Russian legal sphere. The author interprets the basic theses of the French sociologist about law as the main instrument of symbolic violence, at the same time possessing the qualities of a closed and autonomous system, but of a different nature than Durkheim’s social fact or Luhmann’s binary code. The article reveals that the autonomy of the legal sphere in P. Bourdieu is formed by the reproducible practices of agents of a hierarchical legal field (with different habits and unequal social capitals) in complex competition and cooperation, both within this field and in relations with the field of power. The concept of the legal field, as shown in the article, offers a new theoretical level of understanding of law, not being a simple synthesis of antagonizing philosophical and legal doctrines – formalism and instrumentalism. The practical significance of the article is determined by the use of extensive empirical (illustrative) material on the concept of the legal field for analysis: the gradual transformation of legislative regulation into bureaucratic regulation with the introduction of new models of public administration; modest and inconclusive results of the reform of the Russian judicial system; the contradictory situation in legal science, balancing between the desire to maintain a state of self-sufficiency and the need to develop interdisciplinary approaches. As a result, the article formulates generalizing assessments of the importance and potential of the concept of the legal field in enriching knowledge about the “world of law” and in solving problems of optimizing the legal sphere.
How to Cite:
Sobolevskaya, Yu.V. (2026). On new approaches to the study of the Russian legal sphere: The role of Pierre Bourdieu’s “legal field”. Sociopolitical Sciences, 16(1), 170–178. DOI: 10.33693/2223-0092-2026-16-1-170-178. EDN: LRILWL
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The concept of the digital state and digital legal environment. Monograph. N.N. Chernogor, D.A. Pashentsev (eds.). Moscow: ILCL; Norma: INFRA-M, 2023. 244 p. ISBN: 978-5-00156-302-0.
Lapaeva V.V. Sociology of law. 2nd ed. Moscow: Norma: INFRA-M, 2014. 335 p. ISBN: 978-5-91768-450-5.
Maslovskaya E.V., Maslovsky M.V. The concept of the juridical field and contemporary sociology of law. Sociology of Power. 2015. Vol. 27. No. 2. Pp. 48–65. (In Rus.)
Russian judges: A sociological study of the profession. V. Volkov (ed.). Moscow: Norma: INFRA-M, 2015. 271 p. ISBN: 978-5-91768-608-0.
Sinyukov V.N. Digital law and problems of stage-by-stage transformation of the Russian legal system. Lex Russica. 2019. No. 9. Pp. 9–18. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.17803/1729-5920.2019.154.9.009-018.10.
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Khabrieva T.Ya. Law, artificial intelligence, digitalization. In: Man and artificial intelligence systems. V.A. Lektorsky (ed.). St. Petersburg: Yuridicheskiy tsentr, 2022. Pp. 71–97. ISBN: 978-5-94201-831-3.
Chernysh M.F., Epikhina Yu.B. The return of society: Domestic sociology in search of theory and new generations (jubilee interview of M.F. Chernysh with Yu.B. Epikhina). Sociological Studies. 2025. No. 8. Pp. 66–77. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.31857/S0132162525080066.
Chernysh M.F., Epikhina Yu.B., Popova I.P., Voronina N.S. Social group of lawyers: Motivation for entering the profession and mobility trajectory. In: Information and analytical bulletin (INAB). No. 1. Moscow: Institute of Sociology of the RAS, 2014. 92 p. ISBN: 978-5-89697-234-1. EDN: SFEMNZ.
Shmatko N.A. From the editor. In: Social Space: Fields and practices. N.A. Shmatko (comp., ed.). St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2013. Pp. 7–13. ISBN: 978-5-91419-743-5.
Dezalay Y., Madsen M.R. The force of law and lawyers: Pierre Bourdieu and the reflexive sociology of law. Annual Review of Law and Social Science. 2012. Vol. 8. No. 1. Pp. 433–452. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102811-173817.
Kazun A. Juridical field or legal profession? Comparison of Bourdieusian theory and theory of professionalism for studies of legal community. Comparative Sociology. 2016. Vol. 15. No. 5. Pp. 572–592. DOI: 10.1163/15691330-12341400.
Rhode D.L. The trouble with lawyers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. 272 p. ISBN: 978-0-19-020516-4.
Terdiman R. Translator’s introduction. Bourdieu P. the force of law: Toward a sociology of the juridical field. The Hastings Law Journal. 1987. Vol. 38. Pp. 805–813.
Villegas M.G. On Pierre Bourdieu’s legal thought. Droit et société. 2004. No. 1 (56–57). Pp. 57–70. DOI: 10.3917/drs.056.0057.
Keywords:
Pierre Bourdieu, legal field, lawyers, law, socio-legal reality, habitus, symbolic violence, social capital.
