Jens Steffek is professor of transnational governance at Technische Universität Darmstadt and Principal Investigator in the Cluster of Excellence “The Formation of Normative Orders” hosted by Goethe Universität Frankfurt/Main. He studied political science, sociology and geography at the University of Munich and in 2002 obtained a doctorate from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Before taking up the position in Darmstadt he was Assistant Professor at the University of Bremen and University Lecturer in Political Science at Jacobs University. He also directed a project on “Participation and Legitimation in International Organizations” in the Bremen-based research centre “Transformations of the State”. In his current research, Steffek is studying the legitimacy of transnational governance from an empirical-analytical and a normative perspective. He is particularly interested in notions of transnational justice and fairness, the participation of non-state actors in global governance, and the possibilities of democratizing international political authority. Since 2010 he directs a research project on early 20th century visions of global governance and transnational technocracy.
