Stefan Andreas Meyer M.A.

Research associate

 

Stefan Meyer works as a research associate at the chair for “Political Theory and History of Ideas” headed by Prof. Dr. Dirk Jörke and is a doctoral student in the DFG Research Training Group “Standards of Governance”.

PhD Project

Robert Dahl, Good Governance and the Transnationalization of Democratic Theory (monography, written in German)

Residing at the intersection of Political Theory and the History of Ideas, my research centers on the embattled quest for the political standards of the 21st century. The Postnational Constellation and the struggle of Democratic Theory to come up with a plausible model to go forward provides its specific background. What also matters here, however, is what always matters when dealing with standards: what is prioritized and what is neglected, what is hidden and what gets left behind.

My dissertation therefore monitors several emblematic attempts – the ‘invention’ of output-oriented legitimacy, the ascendance of the Governance paradigm, the promotion of Good Governance, among others – to overcome the crumbling hegemonic standardization. As it turns out, however, it is actually this prior model, quintessentially captured by Robert Dahl’s theory of democracy, that still holds up best. At least if understood thoroughly, with all its perks, implications, and restraints. This will be shown by developing a systematized, consolidated mapping of Dahl’s multidimensional conceptualization that is able to incorporate heterodox elements and even allows for trade-offs – all without giving up on political equality just yet.

Research interests

• History of political ideas
• Democratic Theory
• reactionary/right-wing extremist political thought
• liberal political thought

Curriculum Vitae

Since 04/2023	Research associate at the chair for “Political Theory and History of Ideas” at TU Darmstadt
09/2025-12/2025	J-1 Visiting Scholar, Department of Political Science, Indiana University Bloomington (hosted by William E. Scheuerman and Jeffrey C. Isaac)
02/2022-01/2023	Research assistant in the BMBF project “Memes, Ideas, Strategies of Right-Wing Extremist Internet Communication” (MISRIK) at the Institute of Philosophy at TU Darmstadt
10/2019-03/2023	M.A. Political Theory at Goethe University Frankfurt/Main and TU Darmstadt (Thesis: Politicised images of age and age-specific ideas of rule in the works of Plato, Aristotle, Fazy, Weber and Hayek)
10/2015-09/2019	B.A. Philosophy / Sociology at Heidelberg University
09/2012-09/2015	B.A. Political Science / History at Heidelberg University