Thomas Fossen
University Lecturer Political Philosophy
- Name
- Dr. T. Fossen
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 5244
- t.fossen@phil.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-5688-8366
Thomas Fossen is a University Lecturer at the Institute for Philosophy.
I am assistant professor of political philosophy and director of the Centre for Political Philosophy. I work across a diverse range of topics and philosophical traditions (continental and analytic). I am currently working on questions about academic activism and civil disobedience in the context of the climate crisis.
My book Facing Authority: A Theory of Political Legitimacy is available open access from Oxford University Press (2024). The book examines what is involved in judging the legitimacy of a regime from a practical standpoint, in the face of disagreement and uncertainty. It develops a pragmatist approach to political legitimacy, as an alternative to the predominant moralist and realist approaches in political theory. Drawing on a range of sources, from philosophy of language to phenomenology and critical theory, it examines the role of representations of power, identities, and events in judging legitimacy.
My past work has addressed topics including the concept of representation, agonistic and deliberative theories of democracy, and online Voting Advice Applications. I also have an interest in theoretical methods and approaches and have written on philosophical pragmatism and political realism.
Research interests
- Climate activism
- Theories of democracy
- Political legitimacy
- Political obligation
- Political representation
- Philososophical pragmatism
- Methods and approaches in political theory
Bio
I studied political science and philosophy in Leiden and Berkeley and received my PhD in Philosophy from Utrecht in 2011. I worked as lecturer and postdoc in Utrecht and Leiden before obtaining a permanent position in Leiden (2015). In 2015 I received an NWO Veni personal research grant. I have been a visiting researcher at the University of Chicago, KU Leuven, and the University of Essex. In 2020-2021 I was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) and a fellow at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften (Goethe University, Frankfurt, with a Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers).
(Profile photo by Stefanie Wetzel)
University Lecturer Political Philosophy
- Faculty of Humanities
- Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte
- Fossen T. (2024), Facing authority: a theory of political legitimacy. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Fossen T. (2022), Political legitimacy as a problem of judgment: what distinguishes moralist, realist, and pragmatist approaches?, Social Theory and Practice 48(1): 89-113.
- Fossen T. (2022), Political legitimacy as an existential predicament, Political Theory 50(4): 621-645.
- Fossen T. (2019), Constructivism and the Logic of Political Representation, American Political Science Review 113(3): 824-837.
- Fossen T. (2019), Collective Action, Constituent Power, and Democracy: On Representation in Lindahl’s Philosophy of Law, Etica e Politica/Ethics and Politics 21(3): 383-390.
- Fossen T. (2019), Language and legitimacy: Is pragmatist political theory fallacious?, European Journal of Political Theory 18(2): 293-305.
- Fossen T. (2019), Modus Vivendi Beyond the Social Contract: Peace, Justice, and Survival in Realist Political Theory. In: Westphal M., Horton J. & Willems U. (Eds.), The Political Theory of Modus Vivendi: Springer. 111-127.
- Fossen T. (2018), Review of: Wenman Mark (2013), Agonistic Democracy: Constituent Power in the Era of Globalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Political Theory 46(1): 160–164.
- Fossen T. (2017), Review of: Krause Sharon R. (2015), Freedom beyond sovereignty: Reconstructing liberal individualism. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Contemporary Political Theory 16(3): 398-401.
- Fossen T. (3 February 2017), De wil van de meerderheid is nog niet de wil van het volk. NRC Handelsblad.
- Fossen T. (6 February 2017), Geen democratie zonder representatie. Bij Nader Inzien. [blog entry].
- Fossen T. & Brink B. van den (14 March 2016), When using Voter Advice Applications, citizens should be aware that they reflect the political assumptions of their developers. Democratic Audit UK. [blog entry].
- Fossen T. & Brink B. van der (2015), Electoral Dioramas: On the Problem of Representation in Voting Advice Applications, Representation 51(3): 341–358.
- Fossen T. (2015), Judgment and imagination in Habermas’ theory of law, Philosophy & Social Criticism 41(10): 1069-1091.
- Fossen T. (2014), Politicizing Brandom's Pragmatism: Normativity and the Agonal Character of Social Practice, European Journal of Philosophy 22(3): 371-395.
- Fossen T. (2014), The grammar of political obligation, Politics, Philosophy & Economics 13(3): 215-236.
- Fossen T. & Anderson J. (2014), What's the point of voting advice applications? Competing perspectives on democracy and citizenship, Electoral Studies 36: 244-251.
- Anderson J. & Fossen T. (2014), Voting Advice Applications and Political Theory: Citizenship, Participation, and Representation. In: Garzia D. & Marschall S. (Eds.), Matching Voters with Parties and Candidates: Voting Advice Applications in a Comparative Perspective. Colchester: ECPR Press. 217-226.
- Fossen T. (2014), Review of: Roermund B. van (2013), Legal Thought and Philosophy: What Legal Scholarship is About. Cheltenman: Edward Elgar. Political Theory 42(3): 363-366.
- Fossen T. (18 December 2014), Piketty’s vermogensbelasting: een utopie?. Bij Nader Inzien. [blog entry].
- Fossen T. (2014), Mubarak, Morsi, en de strijd om politieke legitimiteit, Filosofie & Praktijk 35(2): .
- Fossen T. (2013), Taking Stances, Contesting Commitments: Political Legitimacy and the Pragmatic Turn, Journal of Political Philosophy 21(4): 426-450.
- Fossen T., Anderson J. & Tiemeijer W. (2012), Wijzer stemmen? StemWijzer, Kieskompas en het voorgeprogrammeerde electoraat. In: Hof C. van 't, Timmer J. & Est R. van (Eds.), Voorgeprogrammeerd: Hoe internet ons leven leidt: Boom Lemma. 167-187.
- Fossen T. (2012) Agonism and the Law. Review of: Honig B. & Schaap A. (2009 | 2009), Emergency Politics: Paradox, Law, Democracy | Law and Agonistic Politics. Princeton | Farnham: Princeton University Press | Ashgate. Philosophy & Social Criticism 38(3): 327-331.
- Fossen T. & Brink B. van den (2012), Electorale kijkdozen: Elektronische stemhulpen kritisch bekeken, Filosofie. Tweemaandelijks tijdschrift van de Stichting Informatie Filosofie 22(6): 22-28.
- Tiemeijer W., Anderson J. & Fossen T. (25 February 2011), Stemhulp stuurt kiezer juist het bos in. NRC Handelsblad.
- Fossen T. (2009), Pluralisme, strijd en menselijkheid: Liberale en agonistische politieke filosofie. In: Bossche M. van den & Vandemeulebroecke R. (Eds.), Humanismen: Filosofische beschouwingen over diversiteit en pluraliteit. Brussels: VUB Press. 37-45.
- Fossen T. (2008), Nietzsche's Aristocratism Revisited. In: Siemens H.W. & Roodt V. (Eds.), Nietzsche, Power and Politics: Rethinking Nietzsche's Legacy for Political Thought. Berlin: De Gruyter. 299-318.
- Fossen T. (2008), Agonistic Critiques of Liberalism: Perfection and Emancipation, Contemporary Political Theory 7(4): 376-394.