Chiara Cordelli Explained

Chiara Cordelli
Nationality:	Italian
Education:	University of Rome "La Sapienza," BA Philosophy (2003) & MA Philosophy (2005), University College London, MA Human Rights (2006) & PhD Political Theory (2007-2011)^[1]
Occupation:	Political philosopher, political scientist
Employer:	University of Chicago (since 2015)
Known For:	The Privatized State (2020)^[2]
Website:	https://chicago.academia.edu/ChiaraCordelli

Chiara Cordelli is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago.^[3] Her work focuses on the application of Kantian theory to the issues of philanthropy, privatization, and state legitimacy.^[4] Her first book, The Privatized State (2020), won the inaugural European Consortium for Political Research Political Theory Prize for best first English-language book of Political Theory.^[5]

Ideas

Following Kant, Cordelli makes the argument that privatizing state services effectively marks a return to the "state of nature" wherein private interests are represented rather than the "omnilateral will." She argues that this "pre-civil" state of privatization lacks popular representation and loses its democratic legitimacy as a result.^{[6] [7]}

Reception

In his two-book review of The Privatized State and Hélène Landemore's Open Democracy, law professor Christopher Kutz praised Cordelli's book for its "profound critique" of the "neoliberal trend" of privatization, but suggested that Cordelli may place too much faith in public bureaucrats.^[8]

Likewise, philosophy professor Lisa Herzog admired the books's "brilliant discussion" of dignity and legitimacy, but had reservations about how the model was silent on what Herzog sees as "overdetermined" wrongs of privatization, as well as questions about how strongly the boundaries of Cordelli's argument hold up to scrutiny.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Chiara Cordelli: Curriculum Vitae. Retrieved from https://political-science.uchicago.edu/sites/political-science.uchicago.edu/files/Chiara%20Cordelli_CV_October%202021.docx. Accessed 13 February 2022.
2. The Privatized State
3. Chiara Cordelli | Political Science. Retrieved from https://political-science.uchicago.edu/directory/chiara-cordelli. Accessed 13 February 2022.
4. Jazz Not Math: On Hélène Landemore's “Open Democracy” and Chiara Cordelli's “The Privatized State”. Retrieved from https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/jazz-not-math-on-helene-landemores-open-democracy-and-chiara-cordellis-the-privatized-state. Accessed 13 February 2022.
5. Political Theory Prize: 2021 – Chiara Cordelli. Retrieved from https://ecpr.eu/Prizes/PrizeWinners.aspx?PrizeID=13 European Consortium for Political Research. Accessed 13 February 2022
6. The Privatized State | Princeton University Press Retrieved from https://press.princeton.edu/books/ebook/9780691211732/the-privatized-state. Accessed 13 February 2022.
7. Church, Jeffrey. The Political Theory Review Episode 94: Chiara Cordelli - The Privatized State. Podcast December 10, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/thepoliticaltheoryreview/episodes/2021-12-10T05_05_43-08_00. Accessed February 20, 2022.
8. Jazz Not Math: On Hélène Landemore's “Open Democracy” and Chiara Cordelli's “The Privatized State”. Retrieved from https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/jazz-not-math-on-helene-landemores-open-democracy-and-chiara-cordellis-the-privatized-state. Accessed 13 February 2022.
9. Herzog, Lisa. Is the privatization of state functions always, and only intrinsically, wrong? On Chiara Cordelli's The Privatized State. European Journal of Political Theory. August 12, 2021. Accessed from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14748851211038725. Retrieved February 20, 2022.