Johan Horst

Dr. Johan Horst is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt am Main, specializing in multidisciplinary legal theory and transnational law. He earned his LL.M. from Georgetown University and completed legal clerkship at the Berlin Higher Regional Court. His academic work bridges legal philosophy with contemporary challenges in transnational financial markets, environmental law, and constitutional frameworks.

• Education: Law in Berlin, Paris, and Washington, D.C. (LL.M. from Georgetown)
• Key Positions: ERC Project Transnational Force of Law (Lex Financiaria pillar head), Humboldt University of Berlin (postdoctoral researcher)

Horst’s research focuses on the evolving relationship between normativity and naturalness in the Anthropocene. His work explores how legal systems engage with ecological processes, posthumanism, and technical objects, challenging traditional dichotomous views of law and nature. Recent publications address transnational financial regulation, geoengineering governance, and separation of powers in supranational contexts.

His publications span topics like transnational financial inequality, environmental law design, and legal theory in posthumanist frameworks. Horst’s scholarship integrates philosophical and sociological perspectives to critique global legal structures.

At the Max Planck Institute, he contributes to the Department of Multidisciplinary Legal Theory under Marietta Auer, advancing interdisciplinary approaches to legal challenges in complex societal contexts.