Dr Paulina Tambakaki

Dr Paulina Tambakaki


Paulina Tambakaki is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Co-editor of the book series Advances in Democratic Theory, Routledge NY. She works in contemporary political theory with a particular interest in debates about radical democracy, citizenship and agonism. Her publications include a book on citizenship and human rights as well as articles in various academic journals. Paulina is currently working on a book on democracy and grief. 


My current research focuses on dynamics of socio-political renewal. It engages with various accounts of radical and representative democracy and it seeks to explore the ways in which different forms of democratic action enhance and challenge institutionalist politics. Two specific projects are part of this research. The first project, builds on my interest in agonistic theory and radical democracy, and it probes questions of mobilisation, change and investment in democratic norms. The second project, that draws on my interest in psychoanalysis, focuses on processes of political idealisation, imagination and grief as resources for contemporary politics. 

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas of contemporary political theory: radical democracy; agonism; democratic representation and action; post-structuralist conceptions of political subjectivity; republican accounts of citizenship; and discourse theory.


  • Centre for the Study of Democracy