Political Theory

The political theory group is comparatively large, comprising more than a dozen scholars at different career stages, from doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to faculty members. Our research addresses fundamental questions about democracy, justice, freedom, political community, and the legitimate exercise of power. We examine what democratic government requires, how democratic institutions and practices can be protected and renewed, and how political principles should guide responses to contemporary challenges such as climate change, migration, nationalism, disinformation, and artificial intelligence.

The environment brings together a wide range of approaches to political theory. Our research spans contemporary normative political philosophy, democratic theory, conceptual history, and the history of political thought, extending from ancient Greek and Near Eastern sources to present-day debates. Several members combine theoretical inquiry with empirical research or engage across disciplinary boundaries, including philosophy, history, psychology, technology studies, and economics.

Across this diversity, we share an interest in connecting careful conceptual and normative analysis with politically urgent questions. Our work explores democracy and autocracy; democratic self-defence and resilience; expertise, propaganda, and public opinion; sovereignty and self-determination; global and climate justice; national identity and political pluralism; the ethics and politics of digital technology; and competing traditions of liberty, property, and political authority.