Matthew Haji-Michael

Welcome to my website!

I'm a PhD student in political theory at the Central European University in Vienna, supervised by Professor Zoltan Miklosi. 

My research interests cover political thought, legal theory, and the history of ideas. My ongoing doctoral research lies at the intersection of these three fields and concerns the ideal of the rule of law, which I approach from a range of conceptual, historical and normative angles. My dissertation is rather tentatively titled: "The Rule of Law Between Myth and Reality". 

I don't ascribe to any particular 'school' and feel equally at home with analytic, continental and historical approaches to theorising. Besides my doctoral work, I am particularly interested in the methodology of political theory, especially in a historicist or realist key. I also continue to have active interests in intellectual history, particularly concerning the political thought of early modern classics (Smith, Montesquieu, Hobbes), the British hegelians, and the Japanese Kyoto school. You can find out more about my ongoing projects under the research tab.

My background is varied. After completing a BA in history in 2018 at the University of Oxford (St Benet's Hall, now sadly defunct), I moved to London to complete an MA in the excellent history of political thought program run conjointly by UCL and QMUL. I then turned to pursue training in law, completing a graduate diploma in law  (GDL) at the University of Law (Manchester) in 2023. Craving some further intellectual depth, I moved to Vienna to pursue a PhD in topics of political and legal theory, where I am based to this day. 

Alongside my PhD studies, I have also been offered a place to study for the English bar at the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, supported by Middle Temple's Astbury Scholarship, which I hope to take up in September 2025. When I can, I also write reviews and more public-facing works, and you can find links to these writings under the tab above. 

My unusual surname, for those wondering, is a debt to my Cypriot heritage on my dad's side. Born in England, both my parents are second generation immigrants. 

You can learn more about me at my institutional webpage, which you can access here.