School of Social and Political Science

Research interests

My research interests are located at the intersections between democratic theory, critical theory, and the philosophy and sociology of work, with a particular concern to rethink work in more egalitarian and emancipatory ways. 

PhD abstract:

This project explores and defends a seemingly simple proposition: if democracy is to be radical, the democratisation of work should be a priority. Two contrasting observations motivate this exploration. The first is that a logic of work has extended into more and more areas of life while the place of formal employment has become increasingly precarious. The second is that despite this development, and despite resurging interest in some quarters of democratic theory, work is relatively neglected as a concern within much contemporary democratic theory. My objective in this project is then twofold: 1) to explore the conceptual resources contemporary democratic theory offers for a normative understanding of relationships of power connected to contemporary forms of work, and 2) to explore its potential for envisioning a more emancipated organization of work, and by extension the economy. The methodological approach is one of ‘grounded normative theory’, with a commitment to tie in political theorizing with existing social critiques. As such, I draw on original qualitative research carried out in the form of in-depth interviews with members of the grassroots union the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) who work as on-demand couriers in the platform economy. However, the research is interdisciplinary in its outlook, drawing on literature in social theory, the sociology of work, and political economy alongside democratic theory.