Dr Dean Machin

CURRENT RESEARCH:

International political legitimacy – Dean is writing a book that outlines a liberal constitutional – but not necessarily democratic – way of legitimizing international institutions and international law. The view is to be a rival to the dominant solutions to the problem. These are (i) a reformed states system, i.e., a system of democratic and effectively equal states; and (ii) some form of supra-state or global democracy.

Dean is also interested in the conceptual and actual tensions between democracy and socio-economic justice. He is looking at the degree to which one can legitimately limit, or ‘adjust’, individuals’ political liberties to better realize socio-economic justice in circumstances of fundamental disagreement about justice. Possible options include some form of plural voting or the insulation of certain issues from the popular will.

PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE:

'Political equality and the 'super-rich': their money or (some of) their political rights' Res Publica (forthcoming)

'Political Legitimacy, the Egalitarian Challenge, and Democracy', the Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol.29, no.2 (May 2012): 101-117

'The Problem of Global Law' (with Patrick Capps) Modern Law Review 74(5) (Sept 2011): 794-810