Jonathan Seim studied political science and philosophy at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf and at the University of the West of Scotland. As a research assistant at DIID, he is responsible for the coordination of the institute. He is also a research assistant in the Digital Ethics project at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). Jonathan Seim’s position is financed by project funds from the Mercator Foundation. His research focuses on moral philosophy and political philosophy, in particular democratic theory.
His dissertation deals with democratic participation rights in the context of citizen participation procedures. Although a correct allocation of participation rights is of fundamental importance for the legitimacy of those procedures, this question is not sufficiently addressed in politics or science. The aim of the dissertation project is to develop criteria for the allocation of participation rights in the context of consultative citizen participation procedures and guidance for the political practice. As a member of the DIID he is interested in requierements of legitimacy of online-participation.