Antoni Mikocki

I am (primarily) a philosopher, writing my doctorate on what I call ‘popular republicanism’ in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Cambridge.

My project lies in the realm of political philosophy and the history of political thought and involves two lines of enquiry. Firstly, I strive to reinterpret sources often forgotten or ignored by contemporary republicans—focusing on the political thought of the ancient ‘popularis’ faction and the reception of ancient thought in eighteenth-century Europe, particularly in the work of Rousseau and the republicans of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Secondly, I draw on these ideas to articulate a doctrinal basis for modern republican statehood. Along the way, I provide a (historical and philosophical) critique of mainstream neo-republican approaches to political philosophy.

I am supervised by Professor Christopher Brooke and funded by the AHRC and the Cambridge Vice-Chancellor’s Award. At Cambridge, I am based at Peterhouse.

I also have a strong interest in (nonhuman) animal rights theory, from both legal and politico-philosophical perspectives, and use the republican lens to write about animal-focused institutional reform. I am an Associate of the Animal Think Tank, where I work on politico-legal strategy for the UK animal rights movement.

I spent my undergraduate years in London at UCL (including one year at La Sapienza in Rome). I then read for the BPhil in Philosophy at Worcester College, Oxford, as the Drue-Heinz Scholar.

In my spare time, I visit museums and feed pigeons.