Legitimizing Authority (PDF)

Boris Vormann is a Professor of Politics and Director of the Politics Section at Bard College Berlin. His recent books include The Emergence of Illiberalism (2021, coedited with Michael Weinman) and Democracy in Crisis: The Neoliberal Roots of Popular Unrest (with Christian Lammert, 2019). His current project examines the role of the state in building the logistical infrastructures of expanding global trade networks.

Christian Lammert is a Professor of Political Science with a focus on Political Systems in North America, John F. Kennedy Institute, FU Berlin. He has published widely on inequality, healthcare policy, and comparative welfare state research. A handbook on American politics (Handbuch Politik USA, coedited with Markus B. Siewert and Boris Vormann) is forthcoming in its third edition.

Susan H. Gillespie is an international educator and professional translator from German to English. She is the Bard College Fellow in Translation and Translatability and Founding Director of the Institute for International Liberal Education at Bard. Her published translations include philosophy, musicology, fiction, politics, and poetry. She is a member of the Board of Advisors and former Vice Chairman of Words Without Borders, and Second Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of Bard College Berlin.