Members

DemocracyNet is an international and interdisciplinary association that gathers scholars of democracy. A list of our current members is displayed below. To stay updated about their current research and activities: subscribe to our mailinglist, like our facebook page, follow us on Twitter or on Mastodon.

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List of Members (in alphabetical order)

Odile AmmannAssociate Professor
Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration, University of Lausanne

Webpage
Research interests: 
Constitutional law, administrative law, international law, legal theory, lobbying, political representation and domestic lawmaking processes
DemocracyNet Treasurer 2018-2021
Hans AsenbaumPostdoctoral Researcher
Centre for Deliberative Democracy & Global Governance, University of Canberra

Webpage
Research interests: Theories and empirical study of participatory, deliberative, and radical democracy
DemocracyNet social media management 2017-2020
Johannes BeschDoctoral Researcher
Department of Political Science, University of Zurich

Webpage
Research interests:
Legislator dissent, party factionalism, personalization of politics, populist parties
Palmo BrunnerDoctoral Researcher
Department of Political Science, University of Zurich

Webpage
Research interests: Diaspora politics, transnationalism and integration, mobilization and contentious politics, social networks, transnational repression, policy analysis and public health
DemocracyNet Managing Board member 2018-2022; social media management 2018-2024; DPDS contact person 2018-2022
Junmo CheonDoctoral Researcher
Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau(ZDA), University of Zürich
Webpage
Research interests: Political representation, local politics, environmental policy, welfare state, comparative politics
Dimitri CourantPostdoctoral Researcher
Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University
Webpage
Research interests: Sortition, lottery, representation, deliberation, participation, democratic innovations, political sociology, political theory
DemocracyNet social media management 2018-2024
Alix d’AgostinoDoctoral Researcher
Chair of Democracy and Public Governance, University of Zurich

Contact
Research interests:
Policy design, advocacy coalition framework (ACF), environmental policy
DemocracyNet Managing Board member 2022-2024; social media management 2022-2024
Alice el-WakilAssistant professor (tenure-track)
Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen
Webpage
Research interests: Normative political theory, democratic theory, democratic innovations, popular vote processes (referendums and initiatives), representation, agenda-setting
DemocracyNet president 2016-2020, Managing Board member 2020-2022; webpage management 2016-2024
Christian EwertLecturer, Consultant & Coach
Webpage (in German only)
Research interests: Governance, Democracy, Communication, Discourses & Semiotics, Methods
DemocracyNet Working paper series editor 2019-2020; Managing Board member 2019-2020; Webmaster 2023-today
 
Dannica FleussPostdoctoral Researcher
Institute of Future Media, Democracy & Society at Dublin City University; Research associate, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra

Webpage
Research interests: democratic/critical theory, theoretical and empirical studies of deliberative democracy, citizen assemblies on climate change and decolonizing democratic theory
DemocracyNet calendar management 2020-2022
Giada GianolaDoctoral Researcher
Institute of Political Science, University of Bern

Webpage
Research interests:
Democracy, digital democracy, (online) deliberation, parties, quantitative methods
DemocracyNet Managing Board member 2022-2024
Nargiz HajiyevaDoctoral Researcher, International Relations Officer at International Cooperation Department, and Lecturer at International School of Economics (ISE)
Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Webpage
Research interests: International security and foreign policy issues, energy security, cultural and political history, global political economy and international public law, EU energy policy, migration policy and related fields
Lea HeynePostdoctoral Research Fellow
Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon
Webpage
Research interests: Comparative politics, quality of democracy, political attitudes, democratic citizenship
DemocracyNet President 2020-2024; Vice-President 2016-2018; network’s coordinator 2016-2018
Lea Heyne
Nicolás JaramilloDoctoral Researcher
Heidelberg University
Webpage
Research interests: Democracy, political representation, political parties, public interest, corruption, organizational deviance, whistleblowing
Stefan KalbererDoctoral Researcher
University of Zurich, Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau (ZDA)
Webpage
Research interests: Democracy beyond the nation-state, democratic theory, qualitative methods, democratic innovations
Deborah Kalte
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Zurich, Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau
(ZDA)
Webpage
Research interests: Political consumerism, lifestyle politics, political participation
DemocracyNet Managing Board member 2018-2022; calendar manager 2018-2020; DPDS contact person 2018-2022; Treasurer 2021-2024
Zoé KergomardPostdoctoral Researcher (Oberassistentin)
University of Zurich, Department of History
Webpage
Research interests: Social and cultural history of democracy with a gender approach, political parties, social movements, citizenship norms, political participation
Libby MamanDoctoral Researcher
Federmann School of Public Policy and Government, The Hebrew University

Webpage
Research interests: Quality of democracy, regulatory design, democratic theory, public administration
Azucena MoranDoctoral Researcher and Research Associate
Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies Potsdam

Webpage
Research interests:
Participatory and radical democracy, subalternity and the counter-public sphere, politics of oppression and deliberation as emancipation
Henri-Pierre MottironiPostdoctoral Researcher
University of Lausanne, Institut d’études politiques, historiques et internationnales, Centre Walras Pareto
Webpage
Research interests: History of political thought, contemporary political theory, democratic theory, democratic practice, representation
DemocracyNet blog editor 2020-2024; Vice-President 2018-2020; network’s coordinator 2018-2020
Daniel MususaPre-doctoral Researcher
Contact
Research interests: Youth and democracy, elections, deliberative democracy, active citizenship, community security, service delivery and accountability, corruption
Sarah PerryEvaluatorin, Beraterin
IMAP GmbH
Webpage
Research interests: Identity, effective and democratic political performance
DemocracyNet ResearchGate accounts management 2018-2022
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Lukas PeterPostdoctoral Researcher
University of St-Gallen
Contact
Research interests: Democratic theory, philosophy of freedom, philosophy of economics, property rights
DemocracyNet Treasurer 2016-2018; Managing Board member 2018-2020; Webmaster 2019-2022
Lukas Peter
Valentina PetrovićPostdoctoral researcher
Department of Sociology, University of Zurich
Contact
Research interests: Democratization in post-communist states, structuralist democratization theories, political economy and political sociology in Eastern Europe
Laetitia RameletPostdoctoral Researcher and Fellow of the Foundation “Stiftung Wissenschaftliche Politikstipendien” 2020-21
Webpage
Research interests: Political consent, legitimacy, authority, history of political thought, political theory, early modern political philosophy
Jan-Erik RefleLecturer, University of Lausanne; Visiting Research Fellow, Oxford, DPIR
Webpage
Research interests: Democracy, democratization, social movements, network analysis, framing, outcomes,  qualitative and quantitative methods, peacekeeping, Africa, Middle East, mobilization, political identities
Jonathan RinnePostdoctoral Researcher
Project “Economic Property and Political (In-)Equality” (part of the Special Research Cluster “Structural Change of Property”)
University of Jena
Webpage
Research interests: Systems theory, democratic innovations, referendums, democratic theory, citizen participation, political equality.
Olivier RuchetDoctoral Researcher
University of Zurich

Contact
Research interests: Democratic theory, radical democracy, contemporary political theory, European Union
DemocracyNet Managing Board member 2020-2024; social media management 2022-2024
Victor Sanchez-MazasDoctoral Researcher
Insitute of Citizenship Studies, University of Geneva
Webpage
Research interests: Democratic theory, deliberative democracy, participatory mechanisms
Martha SandovalDoctoral Researcher
University of Zurich
Webpage
Research interests: Democratic institutions, representation, participation, democratic innovations, direct democracy, democratic theory, Latin America
Antoinette ScherzPostdoctoral Fellow
Department of Public and International Law, Oslo University
Webpage
Research interests: International political theory, institutional design, legitimacy, democratic theory and the concept of peoples
DemocracyNet co-coordination 2011-2016
Antoinette Scherz
Maximilian SchubigerDoctoral Researcher, Assistant and editor at the Année Politique Suisse
University of Bern, Institut für Politikwissenschaft
Webpage
Research Interests: Direct democracy (in Switzerland), democratic theories, legitimacy, political rights, checks and balances
Schubiger
Max SteuerFaculty Member
O.P. Jindal Global University – Comenius  University in Bratislava
Webpage
Research interests: Constitutional courts, constitutionalism in the European Union, cultural expertise, deliberative democracy, freedom of expression, militant democracy, Visegrád Group
Arno StirnimannDoctoral Researcher
University of Zurich

Webpage
Research interests: Political theory (realism), history of political thought (early-modern theories of the state), political ethics (dirty hands theory), state secrecy in liberal democracies
Michael StrebelResearch Associate
KPM Center for Public Management, University of Bern
Webpage
Research interests: Public opinion, urban politics, multilevel governance, democratic legitimacy, comparative politics
DemocracyNet mailing list 2017-2022; member management 2018-2022
Aris TrantidisSenior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations
University of Lincoln
Webpage
Research interests: Democracy, democratisation, pathologies of democracy, public choice theory, clientelism, political corruption, democratic backsliding, climate politics, deliberative democracy
Chiara ValsangiacomoDoctoral Researcher
Doctoral Program Democracy Studies, University of Zurich

Webpage
Research interests:
Democratic theory, liquid democracy
DemocracyNet Vice-President 2020-2024; network coordinator 2020-2024; new members management 2022-2024
Francesco VeriPostdoctoral Researcher
Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra

Webpage
Research interests: 
Democratic innovations, deliberative democracy, direct democracy, set theory and fuzzy logic applied to social science
Simone WegmannPostdoctoral Researcher
University of Postdam
Webpage
Research interests: Comparative politics, parliamentary institutions, democratization, political attitudes, human rights regimes
DemocracyNet new members management 2016-2022
Rebecca WelgeDr. sc. ETH Zurich, Researcher, Lecturer, Trainer for Citizenship Education
Webpage
Research interests: Citizenship and political rights, democratic governance, perceptions of democracy, knowledge transfer, education about/for/through democracy
DemocracyNet founder and coordinator 2011-2016; Managing Board member 2016-2018; webpage creation and administrative management 2011-2020
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Managing Board 2022-2024

Lea Heyne (President)
Chiara Valsangiacomo (Vice-president)
Deborah Kalte (Treasurer)
Henri-Pierre Mottironi (Blog Editor)
Alix d’Agostino, Deborah Kalte, Olivier Ruchet

Contact the Managing Board per e-mail

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