Magdalena Bohrer, M.A.
Doctoral Fellow
Chair of Philosophy and Political Theory
Research interests
Solidarity, political obligations and solidarity obligations, political values and the institutionalization of political values, groups in politics
PhD project
“Solidarity” is not only a commonly used term but also a political value that is shared across party lines. Additionally, it is commonly claimed that the welfare state is an institutionalization of solidarity. My dissertation focuses primarily on the question of what the apparently central political value of solidarity, and its claimed institutionalization, actually means from a philosophical perspective. To answer this question, I need to address several sub-questions. Among other things, I will clarify what is generally meant by the term "solidarity" over the history of the idea, and if the many understandings of the term share commonalities. I ask what it means for something to be a political value and to what extent solidarity as a political value is different from more extensively researched political values like justice and freedom. Additionally, I will look into the questions of whether people can in general be obligated to act in solidarity, and, connected to this, if solidarity as a political value can be institutionalized at all, as well as whether this is desirable.