Principal Investigator

Darrel Moellendorf

Projects and positions at the research center
Principal Investigator

Funding period 2019-2021
Project management: Normative Economic Policy – Past, Present and Future | Research focus 2 – Liquefied Orders: Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence
Project Management: Normative Economic Policy – Past, Present and Future | Research Focus 4 – Overstretched Orders: Global Governance between De- and Renationalization
Project management: Interpreting the Anthropocene: Hope and Anxiety at the End of Nature | Research focus 4 – Overstretched orders: Global Governance between De- and Renationalization

Funding period 2012-2017
Project management: Sustainable Development, Global Governance and Justice | Research field 1

Subject areas
Political science

Main research
International Political Theory and Philosophy

  • Biografische Angaben

    Since 2013: Professor of International Political Theory and Professor of Philosophy (co-opted) at the Cluster of Excellence “Normative Orders” at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

    2002-2013: San Diego State University, Founding Director of the Department of Ethics and Public Affairs, Associate Professor of Philosophy 2002-2007, Professor 2007.

    1998-1999: Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley

    1996-2002: University of the Witwatersrand, Lecturer in Philosophy 1996-97, tenured early 1997, Senior Lecturer 1997-2001, Associate Professor 2001-2002.

    1991-1995: California State Polytechnic University, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, tenure-track.

    1990: PhD, Philosophy, Claremont Graduate School

    1988-1991: Riverside Community College, Lecturer in Philosophy, tenured 1991.

    1987-1988: Doctoral candidate in philosophy (exchange), Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg

    1985: MA, Philosophy, Claremont Graduate School

    1983: BA, Liberal Arts, St. John’s College

  • Publikationen

    2022
    Moellendorf, Darrel (u.a.) (2022): “Ethical Choices behind Quantifications of Fair Contributions under the Paris Agreement,” Nature Climate Change 11, 2021, 300-305.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2022): Mobilizing Hope: Climate Change and Global Poverty in the 21st Century, Oxford University Press.

    2021
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Callies, Daniel (2021): “Assessing Climate Policies: Catastrophe Avoidance and the Right to Sustainable Development” Politics, Philosophy, and Economics 20:2, 127-150.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2020): “Hoffnung und Gründe”, in: Forst, Rainer; Gunther, Klaus (Hrsg.), Normative Ordnungen, Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag, 648-671.
    English version available online: http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/55449.

    2020
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Schaffer, Axel; Brun, Sebastian (2020):
     “Distributive Justice and Climate Change Economics, ” Zeitschrift für Umweltpolitik und Umweltforschung, Heft 1.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2020): Hope and reasons. Normative Orders Working Paper 02/2020.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2020): “Hope for Material Progress in the Age of the Anthropocene”, in: Blöser, Claudia; Stahl, Titus (Hrsg.), The Moral Psychology of Hope, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 249-264.
    Blöser, Claudia; Huber, Jakob; Moellendorf, Darrel (2020): Hope in political philosophy, in: Philosophy Compass, 15. | https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12665
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2020): Responsibility for Increasing Mitigation Ambition in Light of the Right to Sustainable Development, in: Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 13, 181–192.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2020): The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, in: McKim, Robert (Hrsg.), Laudato si’ and the Environment. Pope Francis’ Green Encyclical, New York: Routledge.

    2019
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2019): Cosmopolitan Justice, New York und London: Routledge.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2019): Hope for Material Progress in the Age of the Anthropocene, in: Blöser, Claudia/Stahl, Titus (Hrsg.), The Moral Psychology of Hope, Rowan and Littlefield.

    2018
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2018): Development and Climate Ethics, in: Lever, Anabelle/Paoma, Andrei (Hrsg.), The Routledge Handbook Ethics and Public Policy, London: Routledge, 487–500.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2018): Ending Wars, in: Lazar, Seth/Frowe, Helen (Hrsg.), The Oxford Handbook of the Ethics of War, Oxford: Oxford University Press. | DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199943418.013.14
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2018): Justice in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Policies, in: Schmidtz, David/Shahar, Dan (Hrsg.), Environmental Ethics. What Really Matters, What Really Works, 3. Auflage, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2018): Justice in Mitigation After Paris, in: Murphy, Colleen/Gandoni, Pablo/McKim, Robert (Hrsg.), Climate Change and Its Impacts: Risks and Inequalities, New York: Springer, 53–68.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2018): Real-World Global Egalitarianism, in: Eckersley, Robin/Brown, Chris (Hrsg.), Oxford Handbook of International Political Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press. | DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198746928.013.7
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2018): Three Interpretations of the Anthropocene: Hope and Anxiety at the End of Nature, in: Ethics, Politics and Society.

    2017
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Schaffer, Axel (2017): An Intergenerationally Fair Path to 2ºC, in: Climatic Change, 143:3, 213–226.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2017): Justice and Climate Change, in: Wolff, Jonathan (Hrsg.), Essential Reading in Ethics, New York: W. W. Norton, 457–467.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2017): Progress, Destruction, and the Anthropocene, in: Social Philosophy and Policy, 34:2, 66–88.

    2016
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2016): Absolute poverty and global inequality, in: Schramm, Michael/Pogge, Thomas (Hrsg.), Absolute Poverty and Global Justice. Empirical Data – Moral Theories – Initiatives, London: Routledge, 143–154.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2016): Anti-Poverty, Development, and the Limits of Progress, in: Res Publica, 22:3, 317–325. | doi:10.1007/s11158-016-9329-y
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2016): Can a Liberal State Make Access to Medical Education Conditional on Public Service?, in: Moral Philosophy and Politics, 3:1, 45–53.
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Schaffer, Axel (2016): Equalizing the Intergenerational Burdens of Climate Change — An Alternative to Discounted Utilitarianism, in: Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 30:1, 43–62.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2016): Global Distributive Justice (2): The Cosmopolitan Point of View, in: Held, David/Maffettone, Pietro (Hrsg.), Global Political Theory, London: Polity Press.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2016): Taking UNFCCC Norms Seriously, in: Roser, Dominic/Heyward, Jennifer (Hrsg.), Climate Change and Non-Ideal Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 104–125.

    2015
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2015): “Assistance, duty of”, “Cosmopolitanism”, and “Outlaw states”, in: Jon Mandle and David Reidy (eds.), A Rawls Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2015): Can Dangerous Climate Change Be Avoided, in: Global Justice Theory Practice Rhetoric, 8:2, 66–85.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2015): “Climate Change Justice,” Philosophy Compass, on line, March 2015, 173-186.
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Widdows, Heather (2015): Introduction, in: Moellendorf, Darrel; Widdows, Heather (Hrsg.), The Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics, London: Routledge, 1–3.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2015): “Two Doctrines of Jus ex Bello,“ Ethics 125:3, 2015, 653-673.

    2014
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Schaffer, Axel (2014): “Beyond Discounted Utilitarianism – Just Distribution of Climate Costs,” Karlsruher Beiträge zur Wirtschaftspolitischen Forschung 34 (2014).
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Widdows, Heather (2014): “Global Ethics Then and Now,” Journal of Global Ethics, 10:3, 2014, 319-325.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2014): “Just War,” in: Jon Mandle and David Reidy (eds.), A Companion to Rawls, Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell Publishing.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2014): “Responsibility and the Right to Sustainable Development in Climate Change Treaty Deliberations” in Marcello Di Paola and Gianfranco Pellegrino eds. Canned Heat: The Ethics and Politics of Climate Change, Routledge.
    Moellendorf, Darrel; Widdows, Heather (ed.) (2014): The Handbook of Global Ethics, Durham: Acumen.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2014): The Moral Challenge of Dangerous Climate Change: Values, Poverty, and Policy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    2013
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2013): “Human Dignity, Associative Duties, and Egalitarian Global Justice”, in: Gillian Brock (ed.), Cosmopolitanism For and Against, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 222-238.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2013): “Transcendental Institutionalism and Global Justice,” Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 16:2,162-178.

    2012
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2012): “Climate Change and Global Justice,” WIREs Climate Change, 3:131–143.

    2011
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): A Normative Account of Dangerous Climate Change, in: Climatic Change, 108:1, 57–72.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): A Right to Sustainable Development, in: The Monist, 94:3, 433–452.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): Cosmopolitanism and Compatriot Duties, in: The Monist, 94:4, 535–554.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): Why Global Inequality Matters, in: Journal of Social Philosophy, 42:1, 99–109.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): Common Atmospheric Ownership and Equal Emissions Entitlements, in: Arnold, Denis (Hrsg.), The Ethics of Global Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 104–123.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): Cosmopolitanism and Compatriot Duties, in: The Monist, 94:4, 535–554.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): Jus ex Bello in Afghanistan, in: Ethics and International Affairs, 25:2, 155–164.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2011): Why Global Inequality Matters, in: Journal of Social Philosophy, 42:1, 99–109.

    2010
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2010): Human Dignity, Respect, and Global Inequality, in: Journal of Global Ethics, 6:3, 339–352.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2010): Menschenwürde, Gleichheit und globale Gerechtigkeit, in: Broszies, Christoph/Hahn, Henning (Hrsg.), Globale Gerechtigkeit, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 302–328.

    2009
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2009): Global Inequality Matters, Houndmills; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2009): Justice and the Intergenerational Assignment of the Costs of Climate Change, in: Journal of Social Philosophy, 40:2, 204–224.
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2009): Treaty Norms and Climate Change Mitigation, in: Ethics and International Affairs, 23:3, 247–265.

    2008
    Pogge, Thomas; Moellendorf, Darrel (2008): Global Justice: Seminal Essays, St. Paul: Paragon.

    2007
    Moellendorf, Darrel (2007): Reconciliation as a Political Value, in: Journal of Social Philosophy, 38:2, 205–221.

News from the research center

Event
19.11.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Unerwünscht. Die westdeutsche Demokratie und die Verfolgten des NS-Regimes

Book Presentation

Der Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum schildert die Erfahrungen von überlebenden Juden und Sinti und Roma, von ehemaligen Zwangsarbeitern und Homosexuellen in Westdeutschland in der Nachkriegszeit.

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News
04.09.2025

Rainer Forst awarded the Goethe Plakette of the City of Frankfurt am Main

On September 4, 2025, the political philosopher and Director of the Research Centre Normative Orders Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst was awarded the Goethe Plakette of the City of Frankfurt am Main. With this award, the city honors personalities who have set standards far beyond Frankfurt's borders through their academic work and/or their public impact.

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Event
15.10.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Aufrecht. Überleben im Zeitalter der Extreme

Book Presentation

ACHTUNG RAUMÄNDERUNG! In ihrem jüngsten Werk begibt sich Lea Ypi auf eine Reise in die Vergangenheit ihrer Familie und verknüpft persönliche Erinnerungen mit den großen politischen und gesellschaftlichen Umbrüchen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Das Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen lädt gemeinsam mit dem Netzwerk FrauenmitFormat, dem Honorarkonsulat der Republik Albanien in Frankfurt am Main und dem Suhrkamp Verlag herzlich zur Vorstellung des neuen Buches von Prof. Dr. Lea Ypi mit anschließender Diskussionsrunde mit Prof. Dr. Lea Ypi, Honorarkonsulin Dr. Jonela Hoxhaj und Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst unter der Moderation von Rebecca C. Schmidt ein.

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Publication
02.09.2025 | Journal article

Beyond Myth Busting: How Engagement with Ethical Dilemmas Can Improve Debates and Policymaking on Migration

Schmid, Lukas; Ruhs, Martin; Bauböck, Rainer; Mourão Permoser, Julia (2025): "Beyond Myth Busting: How Engagement with Ethical Dilemmas Can Improve Debates and Policymaking on Migration". In: Ethics & International Affairs, 39 (1), S. 26-36.

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Publication
01.09.2025 | Journal article

Roundtable: Ethical Dilemmas and Migration Policymaking

Schmid, Lukas; Ruhs, Martin; Bauböck Rainer, Mourão Permoser, Julia (Hrsg.) (2025): "Roundtable: Ethical Dilemmas and Migration Policymaking". In: Ethics & International Affairs, 39 (1)

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Publication
21.08.2025 | Anthology

Autoritäre Treiber eines Systemwechsels. Zur Destabilisierung von Institutionen durch die AfD

Frankenberg, Günter; Heitmeyer, Wilhelm (Hrsg.) (2025): Autoritäre Treiber eines Systemwechsels. Zur Destabilisierung von Institutionen durch die AfD. Campus Verlag.

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News
31.07.2025

Shaping the future - a review

As part of the exhibition "Fixing Futures. Planetary futures between speculation and control", our four-part lecture series "Shaping the future - between climate change, technology and social responsibility" took place.

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News
30.07.2025

What remains of "1968" - event review

What can we learn from the 1968 movement for our own time and where do we perhaps need new ideas and utopias? The event "Utopia and awakening of the 1968ers - What remains of political rebellion and individual self-liberation" on July 14, 2025 at the Historisches Museum was dedicated to these questions

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News
10.07.2025

Impressions from the Crisis Talk "Europe in a multipolar world"

The Crisis Talk "Europe in a multipolar world - How can the EU meet the challenges of major powers?" held on July 1, 2025 at the Representation of the State of Hesse to the European Union was dedicated to the question of how the EU should shape its influence and assume its responsibilities in this international environment.

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