Julia Clara Maier

Julia Clara Maier is a Lecturer in Political Science at Columbia University and the M.A. Capstone Coordinator. She specializes in political theory and the history of political thought, with a focus on 20th-century German political philosophy, constitutionalism, and judicialization in European democracies. Her research examines the intersection of historical narratives and democratic legitimacy, particularly through thinkers like Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, and Hans Kelsen.

• Education: PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge (dissertation: 'The German Question', 1933-1968).

Research Interests: Julia’s work centers on political theory, constitutional law, and the intellectual history of Nazism and German peculiarity. She explores topics such as militant democracy, the Rechtsstaat, and comparative constitutionalism in Germany and Spain.

Teaching: At Columbia, she teaches courses on the Frankfurt School, German legal thought, and Hannah Arendt’s political theory, including seminars like 'Seminar in Political Theory' (UN3911) and 'What Was Nazism?' (UN3104).