Mathias Thaler is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory and Director of Research in the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. His main research interest is in contemporary political theory. Thaler regularly teaches courses on democratic theory, populism, human rights and the morality of war and violence. He currently serves as Co-Director of Research in the School of Social and Political Science.

His publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as the British Journal of Political Science, Contemporary Political Theory, Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy, European Journal of Political Theory, Philosophy & Social Criticism, Political Studies, Political Theory, Polity and Review of Politics
His recent research has been funded by the European Commission, through a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (2013–2017), and by the Leverhulme Trust, through a Research Fellowship (2020–2021). Mathias has moreover been the recipient of competitive awards from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Theodor Körner Fonds and the Gulbenkian Foundation, amongst others.

Over the past ten years, Mathias has held visiting fellowships at the University of Oxford, the Université de Montréal, KU Leuven and the University of Sydney. Mathias has been teaching the intersection of philosophy and human rights for many years at the Vienna Master and will explore and question with the students essential ethical considerations.