Participation in the Cluster of Excellence
- Field of research B Religious Diversity and Legal-Political Unity
- Research Cloud 3 Migration and Diaspora
- Head of Project B3-45 Democratic Legitimacy of Strategic Litigation in the Context of Religion
Prof. Dr. Svenja Ahlhaus
Research Foci
- Political Theory
- Democratic Theory
- Democracy and Religion: Democratic challengs of religious plurality
- Theories of Political Representation and Ecological Crises (Sustainability, Climate Politics, Animal Politics)
- Boundaries of Political Communities, Migration, Citizenship, Membership
- Democratic Legitimacy of Political Institutions (e.g. Citizen's Assemblies, strategic litigation)
- Feminist Theory
CV
Academic Education
- Doctorate in Political Science
- M.A. Political Theory (Goethe-University Frankfurt and TU Darmstadt)
- M.A. Legal and Political Theory University College London
- B.A. Political Science (FU Berlin)
Positions
- Visiting Researcher, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona
- Juniorprofessor in Political Theory, Department of Political Science, University of Münster
- Research Associate (Postdoc) in Political Theory, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg
- Research Associate (Pre-doc) in Political Theory, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg
- Visiting Assistant in Research, Yale University, Political Science Department (Host: Seyla Benhabib)
- Visiting Researcher, European University Institute, Italy (Host: Rainer Bauböck)
Honors
- Werner von Melle Award – Hamburgische Wissenschaftliche Stiftung and Edmund Siemers-Stiftung
- Hamburg Teaching Award in the category Beste Lehrveranstaltung an der Fakultät für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften – Behörde für Wissenschaft, Forschung, Gleichstellung und Bezirke der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg
- DAAD Forschungsstipendium für Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden – Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
- Josef Esser Award for the best MA Thesis in the category Best MA-Thesis in the first term of 2014 – Faculty of Social Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt
- Gay Clifford Award for Outstanding Women Students – University College London
- Stipendium für Studierende – Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
External Function
- German Political Science Association (Member)
Teaching
Seminar
- Intermediate seminar: Religion and Democratic Theory: Understanding Christian Nationalism [064974]
- [ – | Tue, – | | SCH 100.301]
Practical
- Practical: Praktikumsbericht (Masterstudiengang) [064866]
(in cooperation with Mirko Wegemann, Ulrich Willems, Norbert Kersting, Rieke Schröder, Ulrich Hamenstädt, Christiane Frantz, Lars Berker, Max Schulte, Elena Leuschner, Hendrik Meyer and Anna Meine)
Colloquium
- Colloquium: Kolloquium [064925]
(in cooperation with Anna Meine)- [ – | Tue, – | ]
Reading course
- Reading course: Politische Theorie und Religion [064975]
- [ – | Tue, – | | SCH 100.301]
Lecture
Practical
- Practical: Praktikumsbericht (Masterstudiengang) [062864]
(in cooperation with Felix Petersen, Ulrich Willems, Norbert Kersting, Antonia Graf, Ulrike Krause, Ulrich Hamenstädt, Antje Vetterlein, Christiane Frantz, Max Schulte, Oliver Treib, Thomas Dietz, Bernd Schlipphak, Hendrik Meyer, Carsten Wegscheider and Matthias Freise)
Practice
Colloquium
- Colloquium: Kolloquium [062907]
(in cooperation with Anna Meine)
- Practical: Internship Report (Master) [060995]
(in cooperation with Tobias Albrecht, Norbert Kersting, Daniel Bischof, Manon Westphal, Oliver Treib, Hendrik Meyer, Carsten Wegscheider and Ivo Hernandez)
Seminar
Practical
- Practical: Praktikumsbericht (Masterstudiengang) [068889]
(in cooperation with Felix Petersen, Ulrich Hamenstädt, Antje Vetterlein, Christiane Frantz, Manon Westphal, Max Schulte, Carsten Wegscheider and Matthias Freise)
Reading courses
- Reading course: Politische Theorie der wehrhaften Demokratie [068924]
- Reading course: Theorien politischer Repräsentation: Klima, Umwelt, Tiere [068925]
Seminar
Practicals
- Practical: Internship Report (Master) [066860]
(in cooperation with Tobias Albrecht, Norbert Kersting, Daniel Bischof, Manon Westphal, Oliver Treib and Ivo Hernandez) - Practical: Praktikumsbericht (Masterstudiengang) [066859]
(in cooperation with Ivo Hernandez, Matthias Freise, Tobias Albrecht, Norbert Kersting, Antonia Graf, Ulrich Hamenstädt, Daniel Bischof, Christiane Frantz, Manon Westphal, Max Schulte, Oliver Treib, Bernd Schlipphak and Inga Nüthen)
Reading course
Projects
Selection
- EXC 2060 B3-45 - Democratic Legitimacy of Strategic Litigation in the Context of Religion ()
Subproject in DFG-Joint Project Hosted at the University of Münster: DFG - Cluster of Excellence | Project Number: EXC 2060/1
Complete List
- EXC 2060 B3-45 - Democratic Legitimacy of Strategic Litigation in the Context of Religion ()
Subproject in DFG-Joint Project Hosted at the University of Münster: DFG - Exzellenzcluster | Project Number: EXC 2060/1 - "Normative Challenges of the European Asylum System", interdisciplinary research group at Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, Bielefeld (with three co-applicants) ()
Project Carried out outside the University Münster
Publications
Book (Monograph)
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . Theorie und Gesellschaft, Die Grenzen des Demos. Mitgliedschaftspolitik aus postsouveräner Perspektive Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag.
Articles
Articles in Scientific Journals, Newspapers or Magazines
Research Articles (Journals)
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Westphal, Manon. . “Justification and Compromise in Contemporary Democratic Theory about Religion.” Religionspädagogische Beiträge. Journal for Religion in Education 49 (1): 1–12. doi: 10.20377/rpb-1966.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Al Nassre, Iman. . “Special Issue Introduction: Religion and Democratic Theory.” Democratic Theory 13 (2): 167–174. doi: 10.1017/S2332889426000254.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Is Religious Strategic Litigation Special? A Deliberative View.” Democratic Theory 13 (2): 263–277. doi: 10.1017/S2332889426000242.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Strategic litigation as a challenge for deliberative democracy.” American Journal of Political Science Online First. doi: 10.1111/ajps.12981.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Democratic underlabouring in times of emergency: The case of climate litigation.” Preprint. Journal of International Political Theory Online First. doi: 10.1177/17550882251351924.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “From legitimate boundaries to legitimate boundary-making: towards a theory of post-sovereign membership politics.” Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP) Online First. doi: 10.1080/13698230.2024.2388415.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Boundary assembly: An institutional proposal for democratizing membership politics.” Global Constitutionalism Online First. doi: 10.1017/S2045381724000212.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Patberg, Markus. . “Exit-Politik als Regression. Wider den souveränen Voluntarismus.” Leviathan - Berliner Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaft 51 (Sonderband 40): 170–191. doi: 10.5771/9783748933076.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Plural reconstruction: A method of critical theory for the analysis of emerging and contested political practices.” Philosophy and Social Criticism 48 (5): 703–725. doi: 10.1177/01914537211017570.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Niesen, Peter. . “Regressions in Membership Law. For a Cosmopolitanism from within.” Constellations (Oxford, England) 26 (3): 492–503. doi: 10.1111/1467-8675.12433.
- Niesen, Peter, Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Patberg, Markus. . “Konstituierende Autorität. Ein Grundbegriff für die Internationale Politische Theorie.” Zeitschrift für Politische Theorie 6 (2): 159–172. doi: 10.3224/zpth.v6i2.22875.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Niesen, Peter. . “What is Animal Politics? Outline of a New Research Agenda.” Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung 40 (4): 7–31.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Tiere im Parlament? Für ein neues Verständnis politischer Repräsentation.” Mittelweg 36 23 (5): 59–73.
Review Article (Journal)
- Laborde, Cécile, and Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Interview with Cécile Laborde on Religion, Secularism, and Political Theory.” Democratic Theory 13 (2): 278–283. doi: 10.1017/S2332889426000242.
Review (Journals)
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Contemporary Democratic Theory.” Contemporary Political Theory Online First. doi: 10.1057/s41296-024-00734-9.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Review of Fine, Sarah; Ypi, Lea (eds): Migration in Political Theory.” Constellations (Oxford, England) 23 (1): 133–134. doi: 10.1111/1467-8675.12271.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Benhabib, Seyla: Dignity in Adversity. Human Rights in Troubled Times.” Politische Vierteljahresschrift 53 (4): 690–692.
Book Contributions
Research Article (Book Contributions)
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Shifting Borders, Shifting Political Representation.” in Lawless Zones, Rightless Subjects Migration, Asylum, and Shifting Borders, edited by Seyla Benhabib and Ayelet Shachar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781009512824.020.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Niesen, Peter. . “Regressionen des Mitgliedschaftsrechts: Für einen Kosmopolitismus von innen.” in Kritische Theorie der Politik, edited by Ulf Bohman, Sörensen and Paul. Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “The Democratic Paradox of International Human Rights Courts: A Kantian Solution?” in Kantian Theory and Human Rights, edited by Andreas Føllesdal and Reidar Maliks. London/New York: Routledge.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Niesen, Peter. . “Der Axtmörder und die Menschenrechtsgerichtsbarkeit. Überlegungen zum Fall Hirst des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte.” in Grenzen der europäischen Integration. Herausforderungen für Recht und Politik, edited by Claudio Franzius, Franz C. Mayer and Jürgen Neyer. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Patberg, Markus. . “Von der verfassunggebenden zur konstitutionalisierenden Gewalt. Die demokratische Legitimität völkerrechtlicher Konstitutionalisierung.” in Suprastaatliche Konstitutionalisierung, edited by Bardo Fassbender and Angelika Siehr. Baden-Baden: Nomos. doi: 10.5771/9783845243313-23.
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. in Kürze. “Political Representation of Animals.” in The Oxford Handbook of Global Animal Law, edited by Anne Peters, Kristen Stilt and Saskia Stucki. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Review (Book Contribution)
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Institutionentheorie als Demokratiewissenschaft.” in 100 Jahre Politikwissenschaft in Hamburg, edited by Peter Niesen and David Weiß. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
Special Issue of a Journal
- Ahlhaus, Svenja, and Niesen, Peter, eds. .“Animal Politics. A New Research Agenda in Political Theory.” Special Issue Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung 4. doi: 10.12759/hsr.40.2015.4.7-31.
Web Publications (Blog Article)
- Ahlhaus, Svenja. . “Rezension zu Ingeborg Maus (2015): Menschenrechte, Demokratie und Frieden. Suhrkamp.” Soziopolis