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Steven Klein
Steven Klein

Steven Klein

Senior lecturer in political theory

Contact details

Biography

Steven Klein is a senior lecturer in political theory with the Department of Political Economy. He did his undergraduate at the University of British Columbia and his PhD at the University of Chicago. Prior to coming to King's, he was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. He has held fellowships from the European University Institute and the American Academy in Berlin.

Find out more at: https://stevenmklein.com

Research

Steven's research focuses on democratic theory, critical social theory, theories of political economy and the welfare state, the theory and politics of European integration, and the history of European social and political thought (especially of 19th and 20th century Germany). His first book, The Work of Politics: Making a Democratic Welfare State (Cambridge University Press, 2020), examines the democratic potential of struggles over welfare institutions. He is currently researching the thought of Karl Polanyi as well as the contemporary politics of finance, debt, and money.

Research grants

Steven received an ERC Starting Grant (£1 million) for his project 'Systemic Risk and the Transformation of Democracy'. 

Selected Publications

Monographs

The Work of Politics: Making a Democratic Welfare State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

Journal Articles
  • On the Egalitarian Value of Electoral Democracy, Political Theory, online first.
  • Democracy Requires Organized Collective Power, The Journal of Political Philosophy, 30, no. 1, 26-47.
  • European Law and the Dilemmas of Democratic Capitalism, Global Perspectives, 1, no. 1 (May 2020): 13378.
  • The Power of Money: Critical Theory, Democracy, and Capitalism, Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, 27, no. 1 (March 2020):19-35.
  • The Politics of Forward and Backward Infiltration: Toward a Dynamic Understanding of Civil Society and the State. (with Cheol-Sung Lee), Sociological Theory, 37, no. 1 (March 2019): 62-88.
  • Fictitious Freedom: A Polanyian Critique of the Republican Revival, American Journal of Political Science 61, no. 4 (October 2017): 852-863
  • Between Charisma and Domination: On Max Weber’s Critique of Democracy, Journal of Politics, 79, no. 1 (January 2017): 179-192.
  • “Fit to Enter the World’: Hannah Arendt on Politics, Economics, and the Welfare State, American Political Science Review, 108, no. 4 (November 2014): 856-869.

Research

Tower_Bridge_Sunset_HERO
Political Theory Research Group

The political theory group covers many topics and approaches, and affirms the central importance of political economy to political theory.

Fourth Annual Distinguished Lecture in Economics
Politics, Philosophy and Economics Research Group

The PPE research group studies questions spanning the disciplines of politics, philosophy, and economics.

AH-podcast
Inequality – The Issue of Our Time

A series of dialogues distilled into a podcast series, creating a space for presenting ideas, research and solutions to the issue of our time - inequality.

Project status: Ongoing

News

Grant funding awarded to major new research project

A major new research project led by a King’s College London academic has received grant funding from the European Research Council.

SPENewsStock

Events

02MarPolitical theorist Steven Klein will talk about his new book.

LAUNCH: The Work of Politics: Making a Democratic Welfare State

Political theorist Steven Klein launches his new book

Please note: this event has passed.

Research

Tower_Bridge_Sunset_HERO
Political Theory Research Group

The political theory group covers many topics and approaches, and affirms the central importance of political economy to political theory.

Fourth Annual Distinguished Lecture in Economics
Politics, Philosophy and Economics Research Group

The PPE research group studies questions spanning the disciplines of politics, philosophy, and economics.

AH-podcast
Inequality – The Issue of Our Time

A series of dialogues distilled into a podcast series, creating a space for presenting ideas, research and solutions to the issue of our time - inequality.

Project status: Ongoing

News

Grant funding awarded to major new research project

A major new research project led by a King’s College London academic has received grant funding from the European Research Council.

SPENewsStock

Events

02MarPolitical theorist Steven Klein will talk about his new book.

LAUNCH: The Work of Politics: Making a Democratic Welfare State

Political theorist Steven Klein launches his new book

Please note: this event has passed.