Email: Z.Khoban@soton.ac.uk
Tel: +44 7397 134057
Zohreh Khoban is a Senior Research Fellow at the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ and the project. She draws on critical and feminist theories to explore power, privilege, and the emancipatory prospects of democratic processes and institutions. She is Co-Director of the Centre for Democratic Futures, bringing together academics from across the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ who have an interest in democratic challenges and democratic resilience.
My current research examines how democratic systems can be reimagined to make political decision-making more inclusive and fair. Empirically, I study if and how democratic innovations—such as citizens’ assemblies—can amplify the voices of marginalised groups. I am particularly interested in whether recognising lived experience in these forums can counter epistemic injustices. Theoretically, I explore how feminist principles can inform deliberative democratic theory and institutional design to advance political equality, with a special interest in whether sortition—the random selection of citizens for political roles—can be justified on feminist grounds.
I joined the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ in 2023. Before that, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University, where I was awarded my PhD in 2019.
