Former Fellow

Emmanuel Melissaris

Associate Professor in Law, London School of Economics and Political Science

Research project:
A post-metaphysical theory of criminal law

Research project:
“The aim of my research is to construct a political philosophical theory of the criminal law and explore its implications for criminalization, criminal responsibility and punishment. The project is rooted in the post-petaphysical turn in political and legal philosophy. The aim is to construct a theory of the criminal law, which does not rely on controversial moral doctrines and is suitable for a specific type of political society with a specific type of institutional structure. This has several upshots. First, the wrongfulness of some acts is to be judged with reference to the political duties, flowing from the terms of social cooperation and not in relation to an independent moral order. Secondly, the criminal law is grounded in its acceptability by all citizens. Thirdly, the political conception of the person also determines the subject of the criminal law. In Frankfurt I hope to explore the specific implications of these general theses and develop general principles of criminalization and criminal responsibility. In particular, I will consider the following questions: Under which political duties are participants in a political community with these general characteristics? Who may respond to violations of these political duties? What kind of response is justified and on what terms? What are the constraints to criminalization and punishment (in particular constraints stemming from the rule of law, democracy and social justice)? How can acts be attributed to an actor simpliciter and as criminal offenses?” (Emmanuel Melissaris)

Events:
Paper Presentation, June 3, 2015
Solidarity and State Punishment

  • Biografische Angaben

    Emmanuel Melissaris is Associate Professor in Law at the Law Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research focuses on the philosophy and sociology of law and theories of criminal law. His current research focuses on the problem of legal pluralism and the justification of violations of the right to property. Born in Greece, he studied law in Athens and received his doctorate from the School of Law at the University of Edinburgh. He taught at the University of Manchester and Keele University before taking up teaching at the LSE in 2005. Emmanuel Mellissaris is a member of the editorial board of the annual magazine "Jurisprudence".
  • Publikationen

    Theories of Crime and Punishment, in: Markus D. Dubber and Tatjana Hörnle (Hrsg.) The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law. Oxford Handbooks in Law. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014. Property offences as crimes of injustice, in: Criminal Law and Philosophy, 6 (2) 2012, S. 149-166. McCoubrey & White’s Textbook on Jurisprudence (mit J. E. Penner), Oxford University Press, Oxford 2012. Ubiquitous Law : Legal Theory and the Space for Legal Pluralism, Ashgate, Farnham 2009.

News from the research center

Event
18.04.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Das Prinzip Donald Trump und die Verrohung der Welt

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Ein neuer Politikstil macht international Karriere. Er ist gekennzeichnet von Vulgarität, Verrohung und erklärter Rechtsfeindschaft. Machtinteressen werden nicht mehr juristisch bemäntelt. Stattdessen wird das angebliche Recht des Stärkeren zur Staatsdoktrin gemacht – innenpolitisch wie außenpolitisch. Treibende Kraft hinter dieser Verrohung der politischen Sitten ist ein US-Präsident, der nicht nur die amerikanische Gesellschaft und Kultur, sondern auch die globale Ordnung nach seinen Vorstellungen und Interessen umgestaltet. Die Römerberggespräche wollen diesen Politikstil verstehen.

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Event
29.04.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Kulturindustrie heute?

Panel Discussion

Das Gespräch „Kulturindustrie heute?“ widmet sich der Aktualität und Tragfähigkeit eines zentralen Begriffs der Kritischen Theorie. Die Filmwissenschaftlerin Gertrud Koch diskutiert im Rahmen der Gesprächsreihe "Frankfurter Schule" mit dem Filmkritiker Bert Rebhandl die gegenwärtigen Formen kultureller Produktion und Verbreitung vor dem Hintergrund von Digitalisierung, Plattformen und globalen Medienmärkten.

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Event
20.03.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

40 Jahre Schengen-Raum

Colloquium

Der 1984 geschlossene Schengen-Vertrag schuf einen heute 29 Staaten umfassenden Raum ohne Binnengrenzen, doch Migration über die Außengrenzen führte zuletzt zur Wiedereinführung von Kontrollen, auch durch die Bundesregierung ab 8. Mai 2025. Das Walter Hallstein-Kolloquium diskutiert die rechtliche Zulässigkeit, wirtschaftliche Folgen insbesondere für Arbeitsmigration und Arbeitsmarkt sowie die Zukunft des Schengen-Raums.

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News
12.02.2026

Satanist politics and the decline of reason in liberal democracies

For the last time in the winter semester 2025/26, the Research Center hosted the lecture series "Am Scheidepunkt. On the crisis of democracy". At the end, philosopher Michael Rosen from Harvard University presented his concept of "satanic politics" as a variant of the political interpretation of the world.

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News
09.02.2026

On the topicality of the concept of violence based on Camus and Derrida

Prof. Dr. Christine Abbt from the University of St. Gallen gave a lecture on democracies and the concept of violence as part of the lecture series "At the crossroads? On the crisis of democracy", she gave a lecture on democracies and the concept of violence. Under the title "Defending democracies. On the topicality of the concept of violence in Camus and Derrida", the philosopher discussed forms of violence and revolt and categorized them with regard to a democratic setting.

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Publication
04.02.2026 | Journal article

New Perspectives on Trust in International Conflicts

Wille, Tobias; Simon, Hendrik; Daase, Christopher; Deitelhoff, Nicole; Wheeler, Nicholas J.; Holmes, Marcus; Rathbun, Brian C.; Acharya, Amitav; Mitzen, Jennifer (2026): „New Perspectives on Trust in International Conflicts“. In: International Studies Review 28 (1), viaf027.

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News
02.02.2026

States competing for people - David Owen on civil geopolitics

As part of the lecture series "At the Crossroads - The Future of Democracy", David Owen from the University of Southampton presented his concept of civil geopolitics.

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News
20.01.2026

Christine Hentschel on reorientation in catastrophic times

As part of the lecture series "At the crossroads? On the crisis of democracy", the sociologist spoke about living in and dealing with catastrophic times. Against the backdrop of the destruction of living conditions, wars, permanent crises and threats to democracy, Hentschel addressed the infiltration of the catastrophic into everyday social life and a changing activist and literary approach to the future.

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Publication
08.01.2026 | Journal article

Gender Differences in Financial Advice

Bucher-Koenen, Tabea; Hackethal, Andreas; Koenen, Johannes; Laudenbach, Christine (2025): „Gender Differences in Financial Advice“. In: American Economic Review, 115 (12), pp. 4218–4252.

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