Norma Tiedemann

Dr. Norma Tiedemann is a Researcher at the University of Kassel, working within the Department of Social Work and Social Welfare in the Section of Social Law related to Rehabilitation and Disability Law. Her research focuses on municipalism, Southeast European politics, authoritarian populism, and social movements, with particular emphasis on post-Yugoslav spaces.

Dr. Tiedemann's research interests center on how municipalist movements in cities like Zagreb and Belgrade create what she terms 'dis/obedient democracy' that challenges traditional state authority while operating within institutional frameworks. Her work examines the intersection of urban politics, social movements, and democratic theory, with special attention to how local movements contest authoritarian tendencies and neoliberal governance. She investigates how municipalist platforms navigate the tension between working within state institutions and maintaining critical distance from them, creating spaces for democratic experimentation in contexts where liberal democracy is under strain.

Her publications reveal significant trends in the study of municipalism as a political strategy that operates both with, in, and against the state. Her work connects urban politics with broader democratic theory, showing how local movements can create 'democratic ruptures' within neoliberal nation-states. She has made important contributions to understanding the gendered dimensions of state power and how municipalist movements challenge 'neoliberal masculine state machinery.'

• 2023 Doctoral Prize of the KIGG (Kassel International Graduate Center for Social Sciences) for 'Disobedient Democracy and Contested Statehood in Southeast Europe: The Municipalist Platforms in Zagreb and Belgrade'

Dr. Tiedemann actively supervises research projects related to municipalism and Southeast European politics, though specific details about current advisees are not publicly available. Her work has been supported through the university's research infrastructure and the Kassel International Graduate Center for Social Sciences. She regularly presents her research at international conferences and participates in collaborative projects examining urban politics across Europe.

While Dr. Tiedemann does not lead a formal laboratory, her research is conducted through the Department of Social Work and Social Welfare at the University of Kassel, where she collaborates with colleagues studying social law, disability rights, and social movements. Her work connects with broader networks of scholars examining municipalism and democratic innovation across Europe, particularly through her involvement with the Disobedient Democracy project.