Skip to main content
Christine
Contact Information
Phone Number(s):
Website(s):
Research Interests
Normative dimensions of democratic citizenship
Political consumerism
South African citizenship law and practice
Normative dimensions of global and international justice
Collective responsibility

Associate Professor Christine Hobden

Associate Professor

Qualifications
DPhil in Politics
Organisational Unit
Wits School of Governance
Biography

Christine Hobden is an Associate Professor in Ethics and Public Governance. She holds a DPhil in Politics (Political Theory) from Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Before joining Wits School of Governance, Hobden lectured in Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare (2017 – 2021) and held a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellowship at the European University Institute (2015 – 2016). In 2023, she was awarded a Y1 Research Rating for emerging scholars by the South African National Research Foundation.


Hobden recently held an Iso Lomso Fellowship for early career African Scholars at the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study (2019 – 2022). She is an editor at Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory and a part of the leadership of the Association of Political Theory in Africa (APTA).


Her research explores normative questions about democratic citizenship and international justice. Her book, Citizenship in a Globalised World, conceptualises a state-based citizenship that is fundamentally collective and globally-oriented. Her current research projects develop an account of political consumerism as a channel of civic responsibility and, drawing on the life and work of Rick Turner, an argument for becoming ‘engaged political philosophers’.

 

Work

1. Review of Avia Pasternak’s Responsible Citizens, Irresponsible States: Should Citizens Pay for Their State’s Wrongdoing? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021)
Res Publica
2023/03 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1007/s11158-022-09572-1

2. South Africa's Vaccine Roll-Out and Its Potential Costs to Our Social Contract
Theoria
2022/12/01 | journal-article
DOI: 10.3167/th.2022.6917303
ISSN: 0040-5817
ISSN: 1558-5816

3. Facing up to complexity again: author’s reply to critics
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
2022/05/16 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2022.2075151
ISSN: 1369-8230
ISSN: 1743-8772

4. “What Would You Have Wakanda Do about It?”
Black Panther and Philosophy
2022/01/11 | book-chapter
DOI: 10.1002/9781119635871.ch4

5. Citizenship from the Couch: Public Engagement and Private Norms in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Philosophical Papers
2021/09/02 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1080/05568641.2022.2026246
ISSN: 0556-8641
ISSN: 1996-8523

6. Citizenship in a Globalised World
Routledge Press
2021/05/04 | book
ISBN: ISBN9780367767297

7. Territorial Sovereignty: A Discussion
Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory
2020/06/01 | journal-article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/th.2020.6716304

8. Shrinking South Africa: Hidden Agendas in South African Citizenship Practice
Politikon
2019/11/15 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1080/02589346.2019.1691813
ISSN: 0258-9346
ISSN: 1470-1014

9. Unequal Political Engagement and the Possible Risks to Democracy
Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory
2018/09 | journal-article

10. Global justice, states, and the relational view
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
2017/11/04 | journal-article

11. Taking up the slack: The duties of source state citizens in the brain drain crisis
South African Journal of Philosophy
2017/01 | journal-article

Personal Information

Christine Hobden

Websites and Profiles

  • Toggle ORCID item details Personal Website
    URL
    http://www.christinehobden.co.za
    Source
    Christine Hobden
    Added
    2025-08-26
    Last modified
    2025-08-26
  • Toggle ORCID item details WSG Website
    URL
    https://www.wsg.ac.za/people/associate-professor-christine-hobden
    Source
    Christine Hobden
    Added
    2025-08-26
    Last modified
    2025-08-26

Activities

Employment 2
Toggle ORCID item details 2021-05-01 to present | Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Governance (Wits School of Governance) Employment
Date range
2021-05-01 to present
Role title
Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Governance
Department
Wits School of Governance
Organization
University of Witswatersand
Organization location
Johannesburg, ZA
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2021-05-12
Last modified
2021-05-12
Toggle ORCID item details 2017-01-01 to 2021-04-30 | Lecturer (Philosophy) Employment
Date range
2017-01-01 to 2021-04-30
Role title
Lecturer
Department
Philosophy
Organization
University of Fort Hare
Organization location
East London, ZA
RINGGOLD
70679
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2018-11-23
Last modified
2021-05-12
Works 16
Toggle ORCID item details Rick Turner and Engaged Political Philosophy as Activist Research Research and Activism: Ruth First and Activist Research Book Chapter
Publication date
2025-05-06
Journal title
Research and Activism: Ruth First and Activist Research
Type
Book Chapter
URL
https://doi.org/10.35293/esi.36
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Orcid Uri
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2061-8727
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2025-08-26
Last modified
2025-08-26
Toggle ORCID item details Rick Turner and the Vision of Engaged Political Philosophy Rick Turner's Politics as the Art of the Impossible Book Chapter
Publication date
2024-07-01
Journal title
Rick Turner's Politics as the Art of the Impossible
Type
Book Chapter
URL
https://witspress.co.za/page/detail/Rick-Turner/?k=9781776148936
ISBN
9781776148936
DOI
10.18772/22024078936
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Orcid Uri
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2061-8727
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2024-12-03
Last modified
2024-12-03
Toggle ORCID item details Taking socio-political context seriously: reflections from teaching public service ethics to postgraduates during a global health emergency Reimagining South African Higher Education: Towards a Student-Centred Learning and Teaching Future Book Chapter
Publication date
2024-06-24
Journal title
Reimagining South African Higher Education: Towards a Student-Centred Learning and Teaching Future
Type
Book Chapter
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.52779/9781991260468/05
DOI
10.52779/9781991260468/05
ISBN
9781991260468
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2024-07-05
Last modified
2024-07-05
Toggle ORCID item details Review of Avia Pasternak’s Responsible Citizens, Irresponsible States: Should Citizens Pay for Their State’s Wrongdoing? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021) Res Publica Journal Article
Publication date
2023-03
Journal title
Res Publica
Type
Journal Article
URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11158-022-09572-1
DOI
10.1007/s11158-022-09572-1
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Source
Crossref
Added
2022-11-29
Last modified
2023-02-14
Toggle ORCID item details South Africa's Vaccine Roll-Out and Its Potential Costs to Our Social Contract Theoria Journal Article
Publication date
2022-12-01
Journal title
Theoria
Type
Journal Article
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/th.2022.6917303
DOI
10.3167/th.2022.6917303
ISSN
0040-5817
ISSN
1558-5816
Short Description
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Over the COVID-19 period, much attention has been paid to the governance relationship between citizens and the state. In this article, however, we focus on a feature that is less evident in the day-to-day living of the social contract: the relationship between citizens. Because this horizontal cohesion is critical to the social contract, we suggest that it should not be neglected, even amid a deepening crisis of state–citizen relations. Using the case of South Africa's vaccine roll-out as an illustration, we argue that certain kinds of state failures – failures in making complex fairness decisions, in treating citizens as equals when enacting these decisions, and in providing public justification for these decisions – risk dual damage to both citizen–state and citizen–citizen relations and so undermine an already fragile social contract.</jats:p>
Citation Citation Type
bibtex
Citation Citation Value
@article{Hobden_2022, doi = {10.3167/th.2022.6917303}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3167%2Fth.2022.6917303}, year = 2022, month = {dec}, publisher = {Berghahn Books}, volume = {69}, number = {173}, pages = {64--85}, author = {Christine Hobden and Heidi Matisonn}, title = {South Africa{\textquotesingle}s Vaccine Roll-Out and Its Potential Costs to Our Social Contract}, journal = {Theoria}}
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Contributors Contributor 1 Credit Name
Heidi Matisonn
Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2023-02-22
Last modified
2023-02-22
Toggle ORCID item details Facing up to complexity again: author’s reply to critics Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy Journal Article
Publication date
2022-05-16
Journal title
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
Type
Journal Article
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2022.2075151
DOI
10.1080/13698230.2022.2075151
ISSN
1369-8230
ISSN
1743-8772
Citation Citation Type
bibtex
Citation Citation Value
@article{Hobden_2022, doi = {10.1080/13698230.2022.2075151}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13698230.2022.2075151}, year = 2022, month = {may}, publisher = {Informa {UK} Limited}, pages = {1--13}, author = {Christine Hobden}, title = {Facing up to complexity again: author's reply to critics}, journal = {Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy}}
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Language Code
en
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2023-02-22
Last modified
2023-02-22
Toggle ORCID item details Citizenship from the Couch: Public Engagement and Private Norms in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond Philosophical Papers Journal Article
Publication date
2022-04-25
Journal title
Philosophical Papers
Type
Journal Article
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/05568641.2022.2026246
DOI
10.1080/05568641.2022.2026246
ISSN
0556-8641
ISSN
1996-8523
Citation Citation Type
bibtex
Citation Citation Value
@article{Hobden_2021, doi = {10.1080/05568641.2022.2026246}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1080%2F05568641.2022.2026246}, year = 2021, month = {sep}, publisher = {Informa {UK} Limited}, volume = {50}, number = {3}, pages = {407--434}, author = {Christine Hobden and Heidi Matisonn}, title = {Citizenship from the Couch: Public Engagement and Private Norms in the {COVID}-19 Pandemic and Beyond}, journal = {Philosophical Papers}}
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Contributors Contributor 1 Credit Name
Heidi Matisonn
Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Language Code
en
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2023-02-22
Last modified
2024-12-03
Toggle ORCID item details “What Would You Have Wakanda Do about It?” Black Panther and Philosophy Book Chapter
Publication date
2022-01-11
Journal title
Black Panther and Philosophy
Type
Book Chapter
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119635871.ch4
DOI
10.1002/9781119635871.ch4
Citation Citation Type
bibtex
Citation Citation Value
@misc{Hobden_2022, doi = {10.1002/9781119635871.ch4}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1002%2F9781119635871.ch4}, year = 2022, month = {jan}, publisher = {Wiley}, pages = {32--41}, author = {Christine Hobden}, title = {{\textquotedblleft}What Would You Have Wakanda Do about It?{\textquotedblright}}}
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2023-02-22
Last modified
2023-02-22
Toggle ORCID item details Citizenship in a Globalised World Routledge Press Book
Publication date
2021-05-04
Journal title
Routledge Press
Type
Book
URL
https://www.routledge.com/Citizenship-in-a-Globalised-World/Hobden/p/book/9780367767297
ISBN
ISBN9780367767297
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2021-05-12
Last modified
2021-05-12
Toggle ORCID item details Citizen Responsibility, Sovereign States, and our Globalized World Sovereignty as Value Book Chapter
Publication date
2021-03-15
Journal title
Sovereignty as Value
Type
Book Chapter
URL
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781786615886/Sovereignty-as-Value#:~:text=Summary-,Sovereignty%20as%20Value%20is%20one%20of%20the%20first%20books%20to,of%20rights%2C%20limitation%20and%20legitimacy.
ISBN
978-1-78661-587-9
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2021-05-12
Last modified
2021-05-12
Toggle ORCID item details Territorial Sovereignty: A Discussion Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory Journal Article
Publication date
2020-06-01
Journal title
Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory
Type
Journal Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3167/th.2020.6716304
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2020-09-11
Last modified
2020-09-11
Toggle ORCID item details Shrinking South Africa: Hidden Agendas in South African Citizenship Practice Politikon Journal Article
Publication date
2019-11-15
Journal title
Politikon
Type
Journal Article
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2019.1691813
DOI
10.1080/02589346.2019.1691813
ISSN
0258-9346
ISSN
1470-1014
Language Code
en
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2020-01-21
Last modified
2020-01-21
Toggle ORCID item details Shrinking South Africa: Hidden Agendas in South African Citizenship Practice Politikon Journal Article
Publication date
2020-04-02
Journal title
Politikon
Type
Journal Article
URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2019.1691813
DOI
10.1080/02589346.2019.1691813
Citation Citation Type
bibtex
Citation Citation Value
@article{Hobden_2019, doi = {10.1080/02589346.2019.1691813}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02589346.2019.1691813}, year = 2019, month = {nov}, publisher = {Informa {UK} Limited}, pages = {1--17}, author = {Christine Hobden}, title = {Shrinking South Africa: Hidden Agendas in South African Citizenship Practice}, journal = {Politikon} }
Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
Christine Hobden
Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
author
Source
Crossref
Added
2020-01-24
Last modified
2022-05-29
Toggle ORCID item details Unequal Political Engagement and the Possible Risks to Democracy Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory Journal Article
Publication date
2018-09
Journal title
Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory
Type
Journal Article
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2018-11-23
Last modified
2018-11-23
Toggle ORCID item details Global justice, states, and the relational view Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy Journal Article
Publication date
2017-11-04
Journal title
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
Type
Journal Article
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2018-11-23
Last modified
2018-11-23
Toggle ORCID item details Taking up the slack: The duties of source state citizens in the brain drain crisis South African Journal of Philosophy Journal Article
Publication date
2017-01
Journal title
South African Journal of Philosophy
Type
Journal Article
Source
Christine Hobden
Added
2018-11-23
Last modified
2018-11-23
Peer review 1
Toggle ORCID item details issn:0022-3816 2022 Review
Completion date
2022
Review type
review
Review group
issn:0022-3816
Reviewer Role
reviewer
Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Type
source-work-id
Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Value
799750f3-dccc-4d06-b97e-2ed888057a4f
Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Normalized
799750f3-dccc-4d06-b97e-2ed888057a4f
Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Relationship
self
Review Completion Date
2022
Convening Organization Name
The University of Chicago Press
Convening Organization Address City
Chicago
Convening Organization Address Region
Illinois
Convening Organization Address Country
US
Source
Editorial Manager for University of Chicago Press Journals
Added
2022-11-30
Last modified
2022-11-30