Daniel Blanch, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science
International Relations
Education
Ph.D. University of Denver, Korbel School of International Studies, USA
M.A. University of Denver, Korbel School of International Studies, USA
B.A. in Political Science, Oregon State University, USA
Research Interests
Dr. Blanch focusses on citizens & political participation in relation to the current crises in democracy, particularly in Europe and the USA. Democratic accountability and the mechanisms involved in these processes are key to empowering citizens and renewing the legitimacy of political institutions. Diverse cultural perspectives and shared conceptions of democratic principles provide the basis for Dr. Blanch's research in areas of national sovereignty and social transformation in the public sphere.
Publications and Media Placements
Select Media Coverage
Spoke on Jan. 15 on TV on US debt ceiling and risk of default. See:
Interviewed on TV on Feb. 8 on NATO, Ukraine War and Biden's State of the Union speech.
See:
Interviewed on TV on April 5 on Trump and his arraignment on felony charges:
Interviewed on TV on April 19 on leaked US documents: "El detenido por los papeles
del Pent谩gono pasar谩 mucho tiempo en la c谩rcel, no es como Snowden" -
Interviewed on TV on April 26 on China as mediator in Ukraine and on Biden as candidate
for re-election to President:
Interviewed on TV on UK 鈥� US summit on June 8, 2023,
Opinion piece on the complicated political situation in the USA after the 2023 State
of the Union speech by President Biden, published in 20 minutos on Feb. 12, 2023:
Interview with Spanish news NegociosTV on Global affairs, on Feb. 8, 2023. See at:
Will the Ukraine War escalate with Western tanks? My analysis on a Spanish TV channel.
See at:
An interview on Negocios TV on Nov. 16, 2022 on NATO and the Ukraine War:
Expert panel participant at Real Instituto Elcano on Nov. 8, 2022 for their US Midterm elections special. See:
US Midterm elections media coverage:
Interview on 'Legislating Gun Control in the USA' by Spanish news outlet 20 minutos, published on May 26, 2022. See it at
Interview published with a major British daily, Express, on Jan. 29, 2022. See it at
Interview on 'Gun Control in the USA' by Spanish news outlet 20 minutos, published on April 23, 2021. See it at:
Discussion participant on US elections in the Radio Program Hoy por Hoy of Angels Barcel贸 on Cadena SER, Nov. 4, 2020.
Discussion participant on US Foreign Policy in the Real Instituto Elcano Debate 'US elections: who votes, what and why', Oct. 29, 2020.
Select Awards
External reviewer for a 13-million-euro European Commission Synergy Research Project,
to be funded by the European Union.
Faculty Community Involvement Award from the Saint Louis University Madrid Student Government Association, May 2022.
Faculty Teaching Award from the Saint Louis University Madrid Student Government Association on May 13,
2021.
Conference Papers & Recent Academic Presentations
'Disillusion and resilience in democracy today: citizens' sorrows and successes in
the public sphere' Paper to be presented at the Philosophy and Social Science Conference, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 1-12, 2024.
'Self-reflexive democracies in times of foreign aggression: political theory and the
language of conflict', Paper presented at the Philosophy and Social Science Conference, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 10-14, 2023.
'Human Dignity in an Era of Global Tension: Normative Foundations for Democratic Cooperation
or a Critique of Hegemony', Paper presented at the Philosophy and Social Science Conference, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 11-15, 2022.
'Normativity in Citizen Activism', Paper presented at the Philosophy and Social Science Conference, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 19-23, 2021.
'Building shared conceptions of democracy while citizens demand national sovereignty', paper presented at the 26th International Conference of Europeanists, Madrid, Spain, June 20-22, 2019.
'Contested Views of The Public Sphere: Democratic Openness, National Interests & Global Forces', paper presented at the Philosophy and Social Science Conference, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 29-June 2, 2019.
'Populism and the Crisis of the EU: Can Citizens Construct Their Own Identity?', paper presented at the 26th Annual Philosophy and Social Science Conference, at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 16-20, 2018.
'Democratic yearning, populism and global issues', paper presented at the 25th Annual Prague Critical Theory Conference, at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 17-21, 2017.
'Transparency or opacity in ancient & modern political life: are citizens to be truly informed?', paper presented at the II Colloquium in the History of Moral & Political Philosophy, University of Minho, Jan. 13, 2017.
'Democratic Principles in a Rationalist Public Square: on Merging Citizens' Cultural Perspectives', paper presented at the Prague Critical Theory Conference, at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 18-22, 2016.
'Facci贸ns e finanzas: as vicisitudes das elecci贸ns presidenciais do 2016 en EE.UU.', conference by invitation at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, April 4, 2016.
'Citizens and Representation in Democracy: Tolerance, Secularism and Hyperpluralism' paper presented at Colloquium in the History of Moral and Political Philosophy, on 'Representation, the People, and Political Leadership', University of Minho, Braga (Portugal), Jan. 14-15, 2016.
'Citizens in 21st century democracies: beyond coexistence to shared political principles?', paper presented at the Prague Critical Theory Conference, at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, May 21-24, 2015.
'The Choices and Voices of Citizens: Political Participation and Post-Enlightenment Theory', paper presented at the Philosophy and Social Science Conference, at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, May 22-25, 2014.
'Seeking Common Ground: Courageous Citizens, Polarized Democracies and the Rhetorical Approach', paper presented at the Fourth Conference on Democracy, University of Minho (Portugal), Nov. 2013.
'Rhetorical Imagination and the Citizen' presented at the Rhetoric, Between the Theory and Practice of Politics Conference, University of Minho (Portugal), June 2013.
'Democratic Theory for Today's Citizens - Seeking Accountability in Governance' presented at the International Political Science Association Conference, Complutense University, Madrid (Spain), June 2012.
'Youth intercultural experiences', paper presented at the 鈥榊outh Constructing Worlds. Capacities and Limits of Action for Change鈥� Conference, Madrid, Oct. 4, 2010.
'Ret贸rica y el ciudadano activo: ideas sobre la democracia, del Atl谩ntico al Mediterr谩neo' [Rhetoric and the active citizen: ideas on democracy, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean], paper presented at the work group El desaf铆o democr谩tico de la Ret贸rica, IX Congreso de la Asociaci贸n Espa帽ola de Ciencias Pol铆ticas, M谩laga, Sept. 23-25, 2009.
'Conclusions', for the Seminar: 'The Inclusion of Migrant Young People in Society 鈥� The Role of Local Authorities & Civil Society', European Youth Center Budapest, Oct. 19-20, 2006.
'Social exclusion risks for youth in NW Spain'. Paper presented at the Council of
Europe Seminar Social inclusion and young people, Budapest, Oct.31-Nov. 2, 2005.
Select Publications
Contribution to the Observatory on Contemporary Crises:
Article in the Observatory on Contemporary Crises, May 2023:
Article published in the Observatory on Contemporary Crises, titled "Xos茅 M. N煤帽ez Seixas and Memories of the Authoritarian Past". You may access it at:
'Building a symbiosis of praxis and theory in normative political philosophy', article published in PHILOSOPHY & SOCIAL CRITICISM, 11/2016.
'Estrategias dial茅cticas y ret贸rica en los fundamentos democr谩ticos de los Estados Unidos', [Dialectical strategies and rhetoric in the democratic origins of the United States] article published in Utop铆a y Praxis Latinoamericana.
'滨苍迟谤辞诲耻肠肠颈贸苍'. Book chapter in La evasi贸n americana de la filosof铆a. Una genealog铆a del pragmatismo. Madrid: Editorial Complutense.
'Depending on their parents: risks of social exclusion among youth in northwestern Spain'. Book chapter in Social inclusion for young people: breaking down the barriers, edited by H. Colley, P. Boetzelen, B. Hoskins, and T. Parveva, Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
'Between the traditional and the postmodern: political disaffection and youth participation in Galicia'. Book chapter in Revisiting youth political participation, edited by J. Forbrig, Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
'The Multicultural Nature of Democracy: Spain's Multination State'. Book chapter
in On European Identity: Nationalism, Culture and History, edited by C. Szal贸, Brno: Masaryk University.
Select Published Translations
The Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front, 1941-1945: War, Occupation, Memory, by Xos茅 M. N煤帽ez Seixas, University of Toronto Press, forthcoming May 2022 (translated with A. Blanch and C. Patterson).
La evasi贸n americana de la filosof铆a, (translation of The American Evasion of Philosophy, by Cornel West.) Madrid: Complutense University Press (short-listed for the best book translation award of the year by the Uni贸n de Editoriales Universitarias Espa帽olas.)
Los Estados Unidos de Europa. Manifiesto para una Nueva Europa (translation of The United States of Europe. Manifesto for a new Europe, a book by Guy Verhofstadt). Santiago de Compostela: Edici贸ns T贸rculo.
El Federalista, (translation with Ram贸n M谩iz of The Federalist Papers, by A. Hamilton, J. Madison and J. Jay). Madrid: Ediciones Akal
Book Reviews
'Building an American Empire. The Era of Territorial and Political Expansion', by Paul Frymer (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 2017), book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.18, 11/2018.
'The Transformation of American Liberalism', by George Klosko (Oxford University Press, 2017), book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.17, 11/2017.
'The General Will. The Evolution of a Concept', by James Farr and David Lay Williams, book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.16, 11/2016.
'Transformative Democracy,' a book review of 'The Democratic Horizon: Hyperpluralism and the Renewal of Political Liberalism', by Alessandro Ferrara, in The European Legacy, 2016.
'Just War and the International Order: The Uncivil Condition in World Politics', by Nicholas Rengger, book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.15, Dec. 2015.
'The Democratic Horizon. Hyperpluralism and the Renewal of Democratic Liberalism', by Alessandro Ferrara, book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.14, Dec. 2014.
'Imagined Democracies. Necessary Political Fictions', by Yaron Ezrahi, book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.13, Dec. 2013.
'Attention Deficit Democracy. The Paradox of Civic Engagement', by Ben Berger, book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.12, Dec. 2012.
'Credit and Blame', by Charles Tilly, book review in Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.11, Dec. 2011.
'The Puritan Origins of American Patriotism' by George McKenna', book review in Serie Dorada de Foro Interno, Anuario de Teor铆a Pol铆tica, n.10, Dec. 2010.