Aletta Norval is a South African born political theorist.
More recently, she has worked on biometrics, focussing on issues of citizen consent to identity management techniques.
Her doctoral thesis, completed under the supervision of Ernesto Laclau, was entitled ‘Accounting for Apartheid: Its Emergence, Logic and Crisis’.
Following the completion of her doctoral studies, Norval started an academic career at the Department of Government at Essex University, where she is currently a Professor.
She was Director of the PhD Programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis and co-director of the Centre for Theoretical Studies in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, both founded by Ernesto Laclau.