Political Science Faculty and Staff
Bettina Koch
Assistant Professor
University of Vecha, Germany, 2004, Dr. phil.
University of Vecha, Germany, 2004, Dr. phil.
Her research interests focus on the history of political thought, in particular medieval and early modern political theory, and comparative political theory, focusing on the comparison of Western and Middle Eastern political concepts. One further research interest is the influence of religion on politics and the interaction between the two.
Dr. Koch is author of Zur Dis-/Kontinuität mittelalterlichen politischen Denkens in der neuzeitlichen politischen Theory: Marsilius von Padua, Johannes Althusius und Thomas Hobbes im Vergleich (Duncker & Humblot 2005). She also published articles on late medieval and early modern political theory. Her publications include "Religion as a Principle of Political Order? Comparing Marsilius of Padua and Johannes Althusius," in Frederick S. Carney et al. (eds.), Jurisprudenz, politische Theorie und politische Theologie: Beiträge des Herborner Symposions zum 400. Jahrestag der Politica des Johannes Althusius 1603-2003 (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2004) and "Marsilius and Hobbes on Papal Power: Some Observations on Similarities," in Gerson Moreno-Riano (ed.), The World of Marsilius of Padua: The Life and Thought of a Medieval Political Thinker (Disputatio 5; Turnhout: Brepols, 2006), and a number of German-language articles on medieval as well as on modern political theory.
At present, Dr. Koch is working on a project called "Theories of Decline in Western and Middle Eastern Political Thought" in which she examines Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Rushd in relation to the literature on decline among the Ottomans from the 16 th century onwards and the Western classics of the same period. This project also addresses the problem of nation-building. One goal of the research project is the development of theoretical tools that might be employed to help analyze weak and failing states.
Email: Bettina Koch