Michael Bennett

Dr. Michael Bennett serves as Postdoctoral Researcher in Political Theory at Utrecht University. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. from the University of York (2017), an MSc in Political Theory from Oxford University, and a BA in History from Oxford. Through his Coursera course "Democracy and Market Power," he helps students understand the complex relationship between democratic institutions and market forces. His research focuses on corporate accountability and market competition as part of the "Private Property and Political Power in a Liberal-Democratic Society" project led by Rutger Claassen. His doctoral thesis, "Democracy and its Relationship with the Market: Impartial Instrumentalism in Politics and Constitutional Design," developed an epistemic justification of democracy while examining market challenges to democratic systems. His current work investigates how market competition and labor unions can serve as accountability mechanisms for corporate power, combining theoretical frameworks with practical applications in political economy.