Civil Society, Sovereignty, Populism, Democracy: Celebrating the Work of Professor Jean L. Cohen

Current and Upcoming

November 6, 2026

9:00 AM - 6:30 PM

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International Affairs Building | Room 707

Please join us for a conference celebrating the work of Jean L. Cohen, Nell and Herbert M. Singer Professor of Political Theory and Contemporary Civilization in the Department of Political Science, Columbia University.

For several decades, Professor Cohen has profoundly shaped the field of political theory through her wide-ranging and influential scholarship, while also mentoring generations of students and colleagues.

The conference will bring together Prof. Cohen’s former students to reflect on themes connected to her work and intellectual legacy. Presentations will address topics including civil society and the state, feminism, populism, authoritarianism and de-democratization, political secularism, social movements, constitution-making, sovereignty and globalization, and related questions in democratic and constitutional theory.

The celebratory conference will be held in the Lindsay Rogers Room (Room 707) at Columbia University International Affairs Building on November 6, 2026 from 9.00 AM.

Breakfast

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Welcome

M. Victoria Murillo (Chair, Columbia Political Science)

9:30 AM - 9:45 AM

Political Secularism, Religion, and Feminism

"Sovereignty, Antidiscrimination, and the Ministerial Exception" — Aurélia Bardon (Konstanz University)

"Women's Autonomy beyond Cultural Imperialism" — Yujin Choi (University of Vermont)

"Political Theology Beyond Schmitt: On the Genealogy of Political Secularism" — Nathaniel Mull (University of Alaska Anchorage)

9:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Populism, Civil Society, and Constitutionalism

"Populism, Representation, and the Social Contract Tradition" — David Ponet (UNICEF)

"Populism, Constituent Power, and Democratic Self-Defence" — Benjamin Schupmann (National University of Singapore)

"Civil Society and Permissive Constitutions" — Hanna Lerner (Tel Aviv University)

"Constitution and its Discontents" — Sandipto Dasgupta (New School for Social Research)

11:15 AM - 2:00 PM

Solidarity, Democracy, and Corporate Power

"Solidarity and Compromise in Populist Times" — Christian F. Rostbøll (University of Copenhagen)

"The Behemoth of the Valley: Tech, Trump, and the New Political Economy" — Katharine Jackson (University of Cincinnati)

"Democracy, Populism and Totalitarianism: Some Ontological Reflections on 'the People'" — Stefan Rummens (KU Leuven)

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Sovereignty, Cosmopolitanism, and International Order

"Environmental Movements and the Double-Threat of the Authoritarian Project" — Rebecca Marwege (American University of Paris)

"Democratic Foundations of a Pluralist International Order: Dewey, Fuller, and the Outlawry of War" — Michelle Chun (Seton Hall University)

"Globalization and Sovereignty after Globalization'" — Hans-Martin Jaeger (Carleton University)

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Keynote Address

5:00 PM

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