Current Academic Research Projects

Subjectivity, Culture, and Law in Times of Decentralisation (Habilitation)

The aim of my work is to establish a substantiated basis for assessing the disruptive potential of blockchain technology through a cultural theoretical and philosophical discussion of the relationship between subject, technology, and institution. I critically examine the goals and ideals of blockchain technology (DAOs, Decentralised Justice, NFT Avatars) regarding their ideological entanglements and societal implications by positioning it within the broader context of Western techno-imaginary. I aim to reveal the blind spots of the dreams of proponents of this technology and of the representations currently shaping our culture.

Virtual Ownership (Research project funded by the Institute of Advanced Studies at University of Luxembourg)

With the interdisciplinary research group Blockchain BRIDGES, I founded in early 2022 at the University of Luxembourg, we received funding to pursue our research on virtual ownership: What does it mean to be the owner of an asset when the assets or the environment in which the transaction that establishes ownership takes place are completely virtual? The aim of the project is to evaluate and elaborate the emancipatory potential of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) such as blockchains to create a more democratic and equitable version of ownership in the virtual space than the current commercialised model. 

In April 2025 we will organise an international workshop to lay the groundwork for preparing a follow-up research project.

Blockchain and the Transformation of Justice (Research Group, EHESS Paris)

Together with Jean Lassègue (Director of Centre Georg Simmel, EHESS, Paris), and Sabine Müller-Mall (TU Dresden), I am preparing a research project on the transformation of the concept of justice through so-called decentralised arbitration platforms. In close collaboration with employees from Kleros, a blockchain startup for decentralised justice, we aim to critically assess the latest blockchain developments in the legal field, such as mediator bots and other AI-blockchain intersections, and to develop solutions to harness their potential without falling into the traps of new, opaque power concentrations, bias, and corruption structures.

Technique – symbolique – pouvoir (Research Group with Former IEA Fellows)

In the research group I founded with Pierre Musso (Télécom ParisTech/University of Rennes) in 2019, former and current fellows of the IEA Nantes meet on a quarterly basis to discuss the dynamics between technology, symbolics and power. Currently, we focus on how conceptions and approaches to death evolve with technological progress.

Public Opinion (Research Series at the Inter-university Centre, Dubrovnik)

Our research project explores the necessity of symbolic means and mediation in political representation, emphasizing the dangers of radicalism that emerge from the trend towards direct democracy facilitated by new communication media. Inspired by Plessner’s Die Grenzen der Gemeinschaft, we examine how the elimination of distance threatens liberal democracies, as seen in politics, science, and culture. This project will analyze how new technologies challenge democratic foundations by intensifying these radical tendencies.

Research Collaborations

  • Since 09/2023: Workshop series at the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik on « Public Opinion » in collaboration with Prof. Gérard Raulet (University Paris-Sorbonne) and Prof. Christian Bermes (University of Landau).
  • Since 02/2022: Founder and lead of the transdisciplinary and interfaculty research group: « Blockchain BRIDGES » at Uni.Lu discussion of blockchain-related topics with colleagues from the Computer Science, Philosophy, Economy, Law Department at University of Luxembourg
  • Since 01/2022: Lead of research group: « Justice en ligne » with Prof. Jean Lassègue (CNRS) bi-monthly discussions with colleagues from the Centre Georg Simmel Paris and members of Kleros a blockchain startup for decentralised justice
  • Since 11/2019: Lead of research group: « Technique – symbolique – pouvoir » with Prof. Pierre Musso (Télécom ParisTech/University of Rennes) quarterly discussions with former fellows of the IEA and invited guests
  • 01/2018 – 06/2019: Conference series: « Formen ziviler und politischer Repräsentation. Eine Bestandsaufnahme auf der Grundlage der philosophischen Anthropologie und der Kritischen Theorie » together with Prof. Christian Bermes (University of Koblenz-Landau) and Prof. Gérard Raulet (University Paris-Sorbonne), October 2017 – June 2019.

Organisation of Conferences and Workshops

Planned:

  • Follow-up workshop at the Inter-University Centre of Dubrovnik on « Öffentliche Meinung und Distanz. Repräsentation und ‘Die Grenzen der Gemeinschaft’ » in collaboration with Prof. Christian Bermes (University of Koblenz-Landau) and Prof. Gérard Raulet (University Paris-Sorbonne), October 03-05, 2024.
  • Workshop: « NFTs Self-sovereign subjects and voluntary nations: ideas and implications of the blockchainification of culture and society » together with Prof. Jean Lassègue (EHESS), Center for Digital Ethics, University of Luxembourg, spring 2025.
  • Lecture series: « I Robot? Subjekt und Kultur im Spannungsfeld von Technologie und Imagination » together with Prof. Lena Steveker (Institute for English Studies, Uni.Lu) at the Doctoral School in Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, 02-05/2025.

Completed:

  • « Digitalised public spaces and democracy » workshop at University of Luxembourg together with Prof. Till Dembeck and Dr. Johannes Pause, December 07, 2023.
  • « Opinion. Public Opinion » workshop at the Interuniversity Centre of Dubrovnik in collaboration with Prof. Christian Bermes (University of Koblenz-Landau) and Prof. Gérard Raulet (University Paris-Sorbonne), September 13-16, 2023.
  • « Technicité et symbolique » workshop with former fellows of the Institut d’Études Avancées in Nantes in collaboration with Prof. Pierre Musso, May 11-12, 2023.
  • « Blockchained Courts of Justice – Reality and Perspectives » workshop at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, in collaboration with Prof. Jean Lassègue, November 18, 2022.
  • « Blockchain governance: requirements vs pitfalls of decentralisation » workshop at the Weizenbaum Institute, Berlin, May 16, 2022.
  • « Structures de croyance des sociétés et technologies » workshop at the Institut d’Études Avancées, Nantes, in collaboration with P. Musso, November 7, 2019.
  • « Bindung – Bann – Verbindlichkeiten » University of Luxembourg (January 17-18, 2019) workshop in the context of the research project: « Formen ziviler und politischer Repräsentation. Eine Bestandsaufnahme auf der Grundlage der philosophischen Anthropologie und der Kritischen Theorie » together with Prof. Christian Bermes (University of Koblenz-Landau) and Prof. Gérard Raulet (University Paris-Sorbonne), October 2017 – June 2019.
  • Lecture Series « Zoom in on Europe: Culture Law Politics » together with Dr. Konstantinos Papastathis (Institute for political theory) University of Luxembourg, April 2017 – May 2018.
    • Invited guests: Hans-Ulrich Gumbrecht, Rainer Maria Kiesow, Michael Minkenberg.
  • « Grenze.Entgrenzung » Workshop at the Centre Georg Simmel in Paris with colleagues from Centre Georg Simmel and the University of Luxembourg, November 19-20, 2018.

International Research Visits

  • 01 – 06/2022: Berlin: Senior Research Fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society
  • Since 12/2019: Paris, France: regular stays at the Centre Georg Simmel (EHESS)
  • 10/2018 – 07/2019: Nantes, France: Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies
  • 08 – 12/2013: Durham, NC, USA: Semans Scholar Visiting Lecturer at Duke University