Biography

My main research interests are in contemporary political theory. My doctoral dissertation (University of Oxford, awarded September 2009) explores the relationship between social justice and different conceptions of the political value of equality.
The basic question I ask is: which conception of equality should a just society embody? I argue that the primary focus of social justice ought not to be distributive equality, but rather the avoidance of inegalitarian social relationships, such as domination.
In doing so, I seek to develop guidelines for a conception of social justice that, whilst essentially liberal in its fundamental tenets, is able to take pressing concerns of republican and feminist theories into account. Other interests include global justice, especially the relationships between domestic social justice and global justice, and the relationship between equality and democracy.
During my Max Weber Fellowship, I will begin a research project on self-respect and self-esteem and their connection to various forms of social inequality. The project will also draw on empirical research in political science, sociology, and social psychology, on the issues of migration and unemployment/ precarious employment.
I also hold an M.Sc. in Political Theory from the University of Oxford (2005), and an M.A. in Philosophy and Law from the University of Freiburg (2004), and I have been teaching undergraduates at Freiburg between 2002 and 2004, and at Oxford between 2005 and 2008 - mostly in ethics, contemporary political theory, and history of early modern and modern political thought. I am a founding member of the Global Justice Network and an editor of Global Justice: Theory Practice Rhetoric.