Maija Setälä, Professor of political science at the University of Turku, shares her perspective as both a political theorist and an experimental political scientist on the question of the relation between empirical and normative research in (deliberative) democracy, but also on her successful experience as a member of an expert committee responsible for proposing a new direct democratic institution in Finland. This interview was recorded in Grindelwald, Switzerland, on January 19, 2017. Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.

Daniel Kübler, Associate Professor for Democracy and Public Governance at the University of Zurich, has a great experience of interdisciplinary research projects – as a researcher and as the director of the research project NCCR Democracy and of the Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau. In this seventh podcast, he shares his views and advice about interdisciplinary research and about the role of political scientists in democratic societies. This interview was recorded at the University of Zurich on September 12, 2016. It is a contribution to our 2015-2016 events series “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms.” Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.

How to make empirical and theoretical research “cross-fertilize”? What can political theorists contribute in interdisciplinary research? And how should they react when their ideas are ‘misused’ in politics? Miriam Ronzoni, Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Manchester, accepted to share her views on these and other questions during her stay as Corti Fellow of the Ethics Centre of the University of Zurich. The interview took place at the University of Zurich on April 28, 2016. It is a contribution to our 2015-2016 events series “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms.” Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.

“The political theory that I write is not intended as an authoritative announcement. It is intended as an invitation to a conversation.” Joseph Carens, Professor of political science at the University of Toronto, accepted to share his own approach to political theory and his views on the relationship between political theory and empirical political science in our fifth “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms” podcast. This interview took place in parallel to the APSA annual meeting 2016 in Philadelphia, on September 2, 2016. It is a contribution to our 2015-2016 events series “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms.” Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.

Joseph Carens, Professor of political science at the University of Toronto, told us about his academic path – and we thought we’d share this fascinating story too.

What are the aims of political theory? How should political theorists select their assumptions about real-existing societies? What kind of responsibilities towards the broader public do they have, especially for research on democracy? David Miller, Professor of Political Theory at Oxford University, shares his perspective on these and other questions in our second podcast. This interview took place at the University of Montreal on August 29, 2015. It is a contribution to our 2015-2016 events series “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms.” Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.

What should the relation between political theory and empirical political science research on democracy be like? Should we ‘compromise’ on ideals when we assess the quality of real-existing democracies? What role should democracy scholars play in public discussions, and what are their responsibilities? Michael Neblo, Assistant Professor at Ohio State University and a specialist in both empirical and theoretical political science, accepted to discuss these questions in our first podcast. This interview took place at the University of Zurich on June 24, 2015. It is a contribution to our 2015-2016 events series “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms.” Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.

What role do political philosophers have in democratic societies? Can normative theories harm? And how to avoid it? Philippe Van Parijs, Professor at the Hoover Chair of economic and social ethics, accepted to share his perspective on these and other questions on how to bridge facts and norms in democracy studies. This interview took place at the University of Zurich on February 19, 2016, after DemocracyNet.eu’s “Justice and Democracy: Assessing Political Legitimacy” workshop. It is a contribution to our 2015-2016 events series “Democracy: Bridging Facts and Norms.” Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.