Jan-Werner Mueller

Jan-Werner Müller is Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences and Professor of Politics at Princeton University, where he founded the Project in the History of Political Thought. A leading political theorist, his work examines democratic theory, European integration, and challenges to liberal democracy.

Research Focus: Müller analyzes populism's threat to pluralist democracy, constitutional patriotism, and the intellectual history of European political thought. His influential concept of populism as 'anti-pluralist identity politics' shapes global discourse.

Key publications include:

• What Is Populism? (2016) - translated into 25+ languages
• Fear and Freedom (2019) - Bavarian Book Prize winner
• Democracy Rules (2021) on democratic resilience

Awards & Honors:

• Bavarian Book Prize (2019)
• Tanner Lectures (Cambridge University)
• Carlyle Lectures (Oxford University)
• LASA Sylvia Molloy Award

He contributes political commentary to The Guardian, New York Review of Books, and Project Syndicate. Current projects include 'Christian Democracy: A New Intellectual History' and studies on architecture's relationship to democratic space.