Kálmán Pócza (1976) is a political scientist and historian of political thought. He studied in Budapest (Hungary), Düsseldorf (Germany) and Fribourg (Switzerland). He was visiting research fellow at the University of Tübingen (Germany) and at the University of Notre Dame (USA). He was the Academic Director of Danube Institute (Budapest), board member of the PhD program in political theory at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPCU) and country expert in the V-Dem project. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of the JUDICON-EU research project (https://judiconeu.uni-nke.hu/). His papers and books have been published by renowned international publishing houses like Routledge, Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Eleven Publishing, Duncker und Humblot and Nomos Verlag. He reviewed manuscripts for Oxford University Press, Brill, and de Gruyter. His research interests include constitutionalism, judicial-legislative relations, political representation and parliamentarism.
Kálmán Pócza, PhD
Head of the Center for Constitutional Politics
E-mail: pocza[pont]kalman[kukac]mcc[pont]hu
Degrees in higher education
Pázmány Péter Catholic University - History - 2001
Pázmány Péter Catholic University - German literature - 2001
Scientific (PhD) degrees
Andrássy University - 2011 - PhD in Political Science
Teaching experience
Pázmány Péter Catholic University - Institute of International Studies and Political Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences - associate professor - 2011-2021
Óbuda University - assistant professor (history of ideas) - 2006-2010
Pázmány Péter Catholic University - visiting lecturer (political science) - 2005-2006
Previous affiliations
Pázmány Péter Catholic University - Institute of International Studies and Political Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences - associate professor - 2011-2021
Óbuda University- assistant professor (history of ideas) - 2006-2010
Pázmány Péter Catholic University - visiting lecturer (political science) - 2005-2006
National University of Public Service (Budapest), Research Institute of Politics and Government - senior research fellow - 2019 - present
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Social Sciences, Institute for Political Science - senior research fellow - 2013-2021
Századvég journal - Member of the Editorial Board - 2013-2018
Danube Institute Budapest - Academic Director - 2013-2015
Research projects
JUDICON-EU research project - Principal Investigator - 2020-2022
JUDICON research project - Principal Investigator - 2015-2017
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project - Country Expert (Hungary) - 2013-2018
Scholarships/grants
JUDICON-EU research project - Principal Investigator - 2020-2022
JUDICON research project - Principal Investigator - 2015-2017
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project - Country Expert (Hungary) - 2013-2018
Andrássy University Budapest - Visiting Research Fellow - 2012-2013
University of Notre Dame (USA) - Visiting Scholar - 2012
Andrássy University Budapest - Research Fellow - 2003-2004
University Fribourg (Switzerland) - Visiting Scholar - 2002‐2003
Research topics
constitutionalism
judicial-legislative relations
political representation
parliamentarism
Memberships
American Political Science Association
European Consortium for Political Research
International Political Science Association
Hungarian Political Science Association
Political philosophy in everyday life: beyond utilitarianism and libertarianism
The course will not revisit the topics covered in the course Political Philosophy in Everyday Life (utilitarianism, libertarianism), but will introduce students to the political dilemmas of equity and virtue. In addition to political utilitarianism, policy makers have to answer difficult questions such as: should the human dignity of murderers be respected? Why can't a man born outside the US be President of the US? Should those born into poverty be compensated somehow? Does the talent born with us create social injustice? Should we require Hooters to hire male wait staff? Are we really not allowed to lie under any circumstances? Is there really no better principle of social organization than meritocracy? Is positive discrimination necessary? Why should one be loyal to one's country? What is patriotism: virtue or harmful prejudice? Does the common good exist? During the course, students will debate the most fundamental questions of political philosophy, using practical examples to illustrate the arguments for and against.Political philosophy in everyday life: utilitarianism and libertarianism
Political decisions often present decision-makers with serious dilemmas. Beyond political gain, they must also answer difficult questions such as: Why is it compulsory to wear a seat belt? Is taxation really the same as forced labour? Should the rich pay proportionally more tax? Why should property rights be sacred? Why is compulsory military service good/bad? Should voluntary surrogacy really be banned? During the course, students will debate the most fundamental questions of political philosophy, using practical examples to illustrate the arguments for and against.Political governance
Featured publications
Do constitutional courts restrict government policy? The effects of budgetary implications and bloc-politics in the Hungarian Constitutional Court's decisions between 1990 and 2018
Pócza, Kálmán; Papp, Zsófia; Dobos, Gábor; Gyulai, Attila (2022),
East European Politics (online first)
Constitutional Politics and the Judiciary: Decision-making in Central and Eastern Europe
Pócza, Kálmán (ed.) (2019),
London/New York: Routledge, 2019, 312 pages
Is a Revival Possible? Theoretical Reflections on the Historical Constitution
Pócza, Kálmán (2018),
Hörcher, Ferenc; Thomas, Lorman (eds.) A History of the Hungarian Constitution : Law, Government and Political Culture in Central Europe (New York/London, I. B. Tauris, 2018, pp. 211-236)
How to Measure the Strength of Judicial Decisions: A Methodological Framework
Pócza, Kálmán (2017),
German Law Journal Vol. 08 (2017), Nr. 6., pp. 1557-1586
Parlamentarismus und politische Repräsentation. Carl Schmitt kontextualisiert
Pócza, Kálmán (2014),
Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag, 2014, 312 Seiten
Featured research
Featured corvinas
Márton Csapodi
PhD program
Constitutionalism in the EU, constitutional pluralism, judicial review and constitutional judiciary
Botond Jereb
junior research fellow program
political realism, political theory, political philosophy, political thought
Álmos Görög
European constitutionalism, constitution-making processes in the EU, Conference on the Future of Europe