PHILOSOPHER · RESEARCHER · DOCTORAL SUPERVISOR
Dr. Norman
Madarasz
Director, Monarch Global Research Institute
Investigating the ideas and structures that shape knowledge, political life and our understanding of the world.
Monarch Switzerland
Born in Montréal and educated at McGill University and Université Paris VIII, Dr. Norman Madarasz brings more than twenty years of university teaching, research and academic leadership to Monarch.
His work connects contemporary French philosophy with international relations theory, critical political economy and the philosophy of science. Across appointments in Brazil, he has taught philosophy, law, history, business administration, linguistics and literature at undergraduate and graduate levels.
He has supervised more than forty doctoral, master’s and post-doctoral research projects. His work includes over one hundred academic publications across epistemology, ontology, linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, economics, political theory and international relations.
Education & qualifications
- 2011 · Doctor of Literature
- Applied Ethics, Monarch Business School Switzerland.
- 1999 · Doctorat in Contemporary French Philosophy
- Université Paris VIII, France. Doctoral research supervised by Alain Badiou.
- 1991 · Diplôme d’études approfondies
- Contemporary French Philosophy, Université Paris VIII.
- 1990 · Maîtrise en Philosophie
- Université Paris VIII.
- 1986 · BA in Philosophy, Honours
- McGill University, Montréal.
Certified Management & Business Educator, Chartered Association of Business Schools, UK.
Academic appointments & fellowships
- 2025–present · Monarch Global Research Institute
- Director since March 2025 and Senior Fellow; doctoral and post-doctoral supervision, and editor of the Monarch Global Research Institute Journal.
- 2022–2023 · CAPES–PrInt Senior Fellowship
- Université Paris VIII, including a twelve-lecture seminar on Alain Badiou’s Saint-Denis years.
- 2012–2025 · Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
- Professor and research fellow in Philosophy and Literature & Linguistics, Porto Alegre. Editorial and research leadership included Veritas and the “System and Structure” research group.
- 2005–2012 · Universidade Gama Filho
- Professor, Rio de Janeiro; head of the Graduate Program in Philosophy, and creator and head of the Bachelor’s Program in Philosophy.
- 2005–2007 · CAPES Foreign Visiting Research Fellowship
- Graduate Program in Philosophy, Universidade Gama Filho.
Experience beyond the university
His professional experience includes executive language teaching and cultural consultancy in France and Brazil, working with executives at the Paris Bourse, GEC-Alstom, Renault, ONS, Eletrobras, Vale and TransOcean. He has also worked as a translator and freelance journalist, contributing commentary on political and international affairs.
His languages include English, French and Portuguese, with reading knowledge of Spanish and German, and Hungarian as a mother tongue.
02 / RESEARCH
Questions across
disciplinary boundaries.
A research agenda grounded in theoretical inquiry, comparative analysis and the examination of how knowledge is formed and validated.
International relations theory
Structural realism, geoeconomic relations and the conceptual frameworks through which international order and North–South relations are understood.
Critical political economy
Heterodox economic theories, political structures and the assumptions that shape economic explanation and public debate.
Philosophy of the social sciences
Theory formation, logical and empirical validation, and the comparative study of analytical models within social inquiry.
Language, cognition & neuroscience
Chomskyan biolinguistics, cognitive neuroscience and their relationship to philosophical accounts of knowledge, structure and the subject.
His engagement with Alain Badiou, Michel Foucault and other contemporary thinkers runs through this work, connecting ontology, epistemology and political philosophy.
Research at MGRI03 / SELECTED SCHOLARSHIP
Books, articles
& editorial work.
A selection from a multilingual body of work. Titles are retained in their published language; English explanations are provided where useful.
BOOK
Foucault, O Quinto Limiar
Estruturalismo e Ontologia Queer
Foucault, the Fifth Threshold: Structuralism and Queer Ontology. Editora Fundação Fênix, Porto Alegre. 530 pages.
Structuralist Realism: on the Intrinsic, the Immanent, the Innate
Editora Fi, Porto Alegre. 461 pages.
O Múltiplo sem um
Uma apresentação do Sistema de Alain Badiou. Ideias e Letras, São Paulo. 216 pages.
Alain Badiou — Briefings on Existence
A Short Treatise on Transitory Ontology. Translated by Norman Madarasz. SUNY Press.
Alain Badiou — Manifesto for Philosophy
Followed by two essays. Translated by Norman Madarasz. SUNY Press.
Selected journal articles & book chapters
Meta-Foucault S.A.: Sair pelo Limiar 5 (a sistematização acontecimental)
Paralaxe. Revista de estética e filosofia da arte, volume 10, no. 1.
A Erótica racionalista de Thiago Roney
In Thiago Roney, Realismo dos Fantasmas da Periferia: O pensamento do realismo mágigo. Editora Patua, São Paulo.
The Conditional Spiral in Alain Badiou’s philosophical system
Poliética, volume 12, pp. 139–163.
Beyond Recognition: Badiou’s Mathematics of Bodily Incorporation
Filozofski vestnik, volume XLI, pp. 315–338.
O Conceito de Natureza Humana em Noam Chomsky
Veritas, volume 63, no. 2, pp. 1092–1126.
The Biolinguistic Challenge to an Intrinsic Ontology: Badiou, Hegel, Chomsky
In Badiou and Hegel: Infinity, Dialectics, Subjectivity, edited by Jon Vernon and Antonio Calcagno. Lexington Books, pp. 123–154.
The regularity of non-Being: space and form in Alain Badiou’s system
Environment and Planning D: Society & Space, volume 27, pp. 796–822.
Editorial work & research in development
Editorial projects include Veritas, Ethica, Letrônica and collected volumes on philosophy, literature and political thought.
Brazil’s Indecision: A Framework for International Relations Theory is listed in his bibliography for 2026 with Monarch Academic Publishing.
In production: contributions to MGRI Journal issue 1 on theoretical research, John Mearsheimer’s The Great Delusion, and the Canadian Arctic; and “Emancipation or Independence? On The Process of Validating Alain Badiou’s M=O Argument in Being and Event”, in a volume edited by Tzuchien Tho for Suture Press.
04 / TEACHING & SUPERVISION
Developing the
researcher.
Graduate supervision informed by philosophy, interdisciplinary inquiry and an international academic career.
At MGRI, Dr. Madarasz supervises doctoral and post-doctoral work in international relations theory, critical political economy, philosophy of the social sciences, and organisational and cognitive neuroscience.
His teaching experience spans undergraduate and graduate programmes in philosophy, law, business administration, history, literature and linguistics. The essays below offer a starting point for thinking about research questions, assumptions and originality.
FOR STUDENTS
Prepare for the next step in your research.
Resources for developing a focused question and making the most of academic supervision.
Preparing for a supervision conversation
Bring a concise account of your progress, a focused research question, the reading or evidence behind your current thinking, and the decisions you need help making. Agree a realistic next step and timeline with your supervisor.
For programme requirements and formal procedures, follow current Monarch guidance and your supervisor’s instructions.
Research interests and supervision enquiries
Norman’s areas of supervision include international relations theory, critical political economy, philosophy of the social sciences, and organisational and cognitive neuroscience. Enquiries about fit and supervision arrangements should go through Monarch’s official contact channel.
Make a supervision enquiry →05 / RESEARCH & PERSPECTIVES
Ideas from the
research journey.
Articles by Dr. Norman Madarasz, drawn automatically from Monarch’s main website. Read the latest perspectives on doctoral inquiry, assumptions and original contributions.
Swipe or scroll to explore the articles.
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What Makes a Doctoral Contribution Original?
What makes a doctoral contribution original? Dr. Norman Madarasz explores the relationship between originality, courage, scholarly scrutiny and the commitment expressed in a research question.
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The Assumptions Behind Every Research Question
Every research question rests on assumptions. Dr. Norman Madarasz examines how rationality, freedom of inquiry and theoretical thinking shape the questions researchers ask.
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From Professional Experience to a Doctoral Research Question
How can professional experience become a doctoral research question? Dr. Norman Madarasz explores the transition from practical knowledge to conceptual inquiry and a carefully delimited research problem.
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP & RECOGNITION
Building institutions and scholarly communities.
Research and editorial leadership
As Director and Senior Fellow of MGRI, Norman also edits the Monarch Global Research Institute Journal. His earlier roles include heading the Graduate Program in Philosophy and creating and leading the Bachelor’s Program in Philosophy at Universidade Gama Filho.
At PUC-RS, he headed the Scientific Research Commission for the School of Liberal Arts, edited Veritas, and led the CNPq-registered “System and Structure” research group. He has organised more than a dozen academic events in Brazil.
Selected recognition
- Monarch Switzerland Pioneer Award, 2025 — recognising his foundational role and leadership in shaping MGRI.
- CAPES–PrInt Senior Fellowship, 2022–2023 — Université Paris VIII.
- CAPES Foreign Visiting Research Fellowship, 2005–2007 — Universidade Gama Filho.
- Professor homenageado, 2018 — Philosophy programme, School of Humanities, PUC-RS.
06 / SCHOLARLY EXCHANGE
Conversations
across borders.
Dr. Madarasz’s speaking engagements and scholarly exchange span Brazil, Canada, France, the United States and other international settings.
- Paris · 2026“From Structure to Rupture” — contribution to Patrice Maniglier’s seminar on structuralism at École normale supérieure.
- Campinas · 2025Opening keynote at the first International Conference on Alain Badiou, University of Campinas.
- Paris · 2022–2023Invited senior fellowship and twelve-lecture seminar at Université Paris VIII.
- New York · 2019Invited speaker at Columbia University’s workshop on The Immanence of Truths with Alain Badiou.
07 / CONTACT
Academic enquiries
& collaboration.
For questions about research interests, supervision, scholarly collaboration or speaking, contact Monarch and indicate that your enquiry is for Dr. Norman Madarasz.
Contact through Monarch