Mathias Risse Named Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy

March 1, 2021

Mathias Risse has been named Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy at Harvard Kennedy School. The chair was given by Robert Ziff (AB ’88), Dirk Ziff (MBA ’93), and Daniel Ziff in recognition of Berthold Beitz’s extraordinary legacy as a humanitarian and philanthropist.

Mathias’ work addresses questions of global justice ranging from human rights, inequality, taxation, trade and immigration to climate change, obligations to future generations and the future of technology, including the impact of artificial intelligence on a range of normative issues. He has also worked on questions in ethics, decision theory and 19th century German philosophy. He is the author of “On Global Justice,” “Global Political Philosophy,” “On Trade Justice: A Philosophical Plea for a New Global Deal (with Gabriel Wollner) and “On Justice: Philosophy, History, Foundations.” He serves as Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and Co-director of our Graduate Fellowship Program. Mathias studied in Bielefeld, Pittsburgh, and Jerusalem, and received his PhD from Princeton.