Mathias Risse

Harvard University

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Mathias Risse is a German-born political philosopher. He is Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Previously he taught in the Department of Philosophy at Yale University, having received his PhD from Princeton University in 2000. His work addresses global justice, ethics, decision theory and 19th century German philosophy, especially Nietzsche. In addition to the Kennedy School he teaches in Harvard College and the Harvard Extension School, and has also been involved with executive education. Risse is the author of On Global Justice and Global Political Philosophy, both published in 2012. On Global Justice is known for introducing the “ground-of-justice” approach to global political thought. Global Political Philosophy is an unconventional introduction to political philosophy that begins at the global level. At Harvard, Risse is affiliated with the Safra Center for Ethics, the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He is also the director of the McCloy Scholarship program, a prestigious fellowship program for German students. Risse has been the organizer of several major interdisciplinary conferences at Harvard over the years. Moreover, he believes political philosophers reflecting on global questions should do their share in building global connections. In recent times, accordingly, his interests have expanded to East and South East Asia. Having travelled extensively in the region, he was a Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore in 2013. He has also organized or co-organized several international conferences at Fudan University in Shanghai as well as at the National University of Singapore. He has been a visiting professor at New York University Abu Dhabi and Leuphana University in Germany, as well as a visiting fellow at the Center for Human Values at Princeton University.