Chiara Cordelli

Chiara Cordelli is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago, with affiliated faculty status in the Philosophy department. She specializes in political philosophy at the intersection of political economy and democratic theory, focusing on privatization ethics, capitalism critique, and civil society justice. Her award-winning book The Privatized State develops a Kantian framework for public administration ethics.

• Affiliated with: Philosophy department (University of Chicago)
• Visiting positions: Kluge Center (2009-2010), Princeton (2014-2015), Stanford (2012-2013), Harvard (2017-2018), EHESS (2021-2022)

Her research explores capitalism's moral dimensions through alienation theory, arguing for financial democracy and investment democratization. Current work examines democratic socialism's institutional demands and capitalism's monetary valuation critique. She co-edits Political Philosophy and serves as editor for the American Association for Legal and Political Philosophy's NOMOS yearbook.

Scientific Awards:

• 2021 ECPR Political Theory Prize for best first book

Publications span major journals including American Political Science Review, Ethics, and Journal of Political Philosophy, with collaborative works on intergenerational justice and philanthropy's democratic role. Her scholarship systematically analyzes privatization mechanisms, religious establishment, and market-civil society dynamics.