Stephanie Ahrens

Stephanie’s academic interests lie at the intersection of political theory and American politics. She draws from ancient and modern political thought, democratic theory, American political thought and development, and empirical social science in her normative and interpretive research. What she often finds most interesting are questions about democratic community, care, and the normative aspects of political relationships. Her current book project responds to ongoing declines in political trust in the United States by defining what trust should look like among members of a democracy, how democratic institutions and practices undercut or support a culture of “democratic trust,” and whether the Constitution of the United States sets the institutional ground for citizens to democratically trust each other.