Academic Career and Research Areas
Lena Siepker is a doctoral researcher at the Professorship of Political Theory and Philosophy at the Technical University of Munich and a member of the Graduate School of Politics at the University of Münster. Her dissertation explores the conditions under which citizen assemblies can realize their transformative potential. Positioned at the intersection of political theory and empirical sustainability research, her work adopts a critical perspective on power within deliberative democratic theories and practices.
Before receiving a doctoral scholarship from the Cusanuswerk in November 2024, Lena worked as a research associate in the project ENGAGE – Participation for a Sustainable Common Good at the Center for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research. Her interdisciplinary academic background (holding degrees in Theology, Social Sciences, and Geosciences from the University of Münster and the University of Edinburgh) has shaped her research interests in the interconnections between inequality, democratic development, democratic innovations, and sustainability policy.
Key Publications
Siepker L & Fuchs D: “Nachhaltigkeitsverantwortung unter Pluralitätsbedingungen - politische Kompromisse als Kernelement der Demokratie.” Bachmann C, Riedl A M, Noweck A & Filipovic A (Eds.): Sozialethik im Kontext. Interdisziplinäre Fragen einer gesellschaftlich engagierten Theologie. Brill | Schöningh. 2025: 249-262. Details
Siepker L, Wolff F & Fuchs D: “Nachhaltiges Gemeinwohl in Bürgerbeteiligungsprozessen verwirklichen. Ein Leitfaden." miami. 2024. Abstract
Bohn C, Hasenkamp V, Fuchs D & Siepker L: "Citizens Shaping Complex Technological Issues? Participatory Processes in Bioeconomic and Biotechnological Contexts.“ Politische Vierteljahresschrift. 2023; 64: 801–823. Open Access
Siepker L: "Die Ungleichverteilung von Engagement und Beteiligung in Deutschland - Herausforderung für eine gelingende Nachhaltigkeitstransformation.“ Gumbert T, Bohn C, Fuchs D, Lennartz B & Müller C J (Eds.): Demokratie und Nachhaltigkeit. Aktuelle Perspektiven auf ein komplexes Spannungsverhältnis. Nomos. 2022: 119-136. Details