Alumnus Shai Agmon wins prize for best doctoral thesis

Alumnus Shai Agmon has been awarded the DPIR’s inaugural prize for the best doctoral thesis in Political Theory.

Shai’s thesis is entitled “Liberal Democracy, Competition and the Institutional Limits of Markets”, which he completed in the academic year 2022-23. 

Details of Shai’s thesis

The thesis focuses on a ‘particular class of problems affecting liberal democracies worldwide’. In particular, Shai states that the electoral system, the free press, and the legal system are ‘undermined’ by their ‘subordination to the markets’.  

With this in mind, the Junior Research Fellow explores how a ‘shared fear of market expansionism has developed into a vast normative literature, the “Moral Limits of Markets”, which he says suffers from a failure to ‘properly analyse normative issues arising from the clash between markets liberal democratic institutions’.

The thesis reflects Shai’s research interests, which, alongside political theory, include the institutional limits of markets, competition, liberalism and legal philosophy.

Shai’s response to his award

Upon receiving news of his award, he said:

'I wish to thank my supervisors, Cécile Fabre and Jonathan Wolff, for their invaluable intellectual and emotional support. I am also deeply appreciative of my examiners, Joseph Heath and Cécile Laborde, for their insightful feedback. Finally, I couldn't have done any of it without my DPhil colleagues, friends, and, most importantly, my dear family.'