Fellow

Simone Chambers

Duration of stay: April 8 – June 18 2025

In cooperation with Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst

Funded by University of California Irvine and Research Center Normative Orders

Simone Chambers is Professor of Political Science at the University of California Irvine. She has written and published on such topics as deliberative democracy, referendums, constitutional politics, the public sphere, secularism, rhetoric, civility, digital misinformation and the work of Jürgen Habermas and John Rawls. Her most recent book, Contemporary Democratic Theory appeared with Polity Press in 2024.

Research project: Deliberation and the future of democracy: A realistic but not realist political theory

My research falls within the discipline of political philosophy. I am writing a book that seeks to argue that deliberative democracy offers a compelling diagnosis of what ails democracy today. Often accused of being ideal, unable to address power differentials, and unrealistic, this project aims to show that deliberative democracy is none of those things I pay particular attention to the rise and popularity of realist theories of democracy and argue that they fail to offer a compelling account of democracy.


Events

4/25 Kings College London: Public lecture

4/28 Oxford University: Public lecture

4/29 University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona: Colloquium presentation

5/22 University of Vienna: Public lecture

5/28 Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz: Public lecture

6/2 Frei University of Berlin: Colloquium presentation

6/3 Goethe University of Frankfurt: Public lecture “Is there a future for deliberative democracy? Democratic theory in the age of oligarchs, autocrats, and patriarchs”

6/12 University of Hamburg: Workshop presentation, 2025, 6:15 p.m.

  • Publikationen

    Simone Chambers. 2025. “Illusive Methodology. What is Normative Political Theory?” Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. Simone Chambers. 2025. “Populism, Popular Sovereignty, and Popular Rule. Democratic Theory 11 (2): 18-31 Simone Chambers. 2024. Contemporary Democratic Theory .Polity Press Simone Chambers. 2024. “The Counter-Majoritarian Referendum: Popular Voting Processes and Constitutional Change.” Critical Review 36 (3): 338-351

News from the research center

Event
14.07.2025 | Frankfurt

Utopie und Aufbruch der 1968er – Was von politischer Rebellion und individueller Selbstbefreiung geblieben ist

Panel Discussion

Die Diskussionsrunde mit Rainer Langhans, Christa Ritter, die seit 1978 zur Selbsterfahrungsgruppe um Langhans gehört, und dem Sozialphilosophen Martin Saar widmet sich utopischen Vorstellungen, die von der 1968er Bewegung ausgingen, und beleuchtet deren Ideale, Impulse, individuelle und gesellschaftspolitische Nachwirkungen.

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Event
10.07.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Territorial Justice by Lea Ypi

Workshop

Workshop on the new book by Lea Ypi (LSE). With, among others: Andrea Sangiovanni and Ayelet Shachar.

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Event
01.07.2025 | Brussels

Europa in einer multipolaren Welt – Wie kann die EU den Herausforderungen gegenüber Großmächten begegnen?

Crisis Talk

Impuls von Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff mit anschließender Podiumsdiskussion

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News
22.05.2025

Does deliberative democracy have a future in the age of oligarchs, autocrats and patriarchs?

On June 3, Prof. Simone Chambers will give a lecture on the value of democracies and the future of the form of government.

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News
19.05.2025

What can a baroque tapestry tell us about colonial iconography?

Lecture by Cécile Fromone on May 21. The professor at the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, director of the Cooper Gallery at the Hutchins Center and author will talk about the long-forgotten African origins of iconography and its colonial dimension.

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News
05.05.2025

Normative Orders Newsletter 01/25 published

The newsletter from Research Centre Normative Orders collects information on current events, reports, news and publications several times a year. Read the first issue 2025 here.

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News
05.05.2025

"Hitler. History of a Dictator" by Sybille Steinbacher will be published on May 15, 2025

The historian's new book deals with Hitler's origins, the roots of his anti-Semitism and his rise to power.

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News
29.04.2025

Public lecture series “Racism in the police” begins on May 13, 2025

Racism in the police has various dimensions. In the lecture series “Racism in the police - empirical findings, methodological approaches and controversies”, three empirical studies on police work will be presented.

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