The Research of Elisabeth Conradi is mainly conducted in the academic area of Political Theory as a subdiscipline of Political Science. Her research in Political Theory is centered on Democratic Theory, especially the importance of civil society and social movements for the development of democracy. Questions of participation and representation are key foci for her work which seeks to further develop deliberative democracy in the light of a culture of communication.
Beyond that she is secondly concerned with Ethics, an interdisciplinary research field, mainly informed by Philosophy. Her research in Ethics is wide-ranging. It encompasses a philosophical foundation of ethics as well as studies in the theory-practice-relation, the connection between ethics and politics, gender issues, empirical studies in ethical development and professional ethics.
Her third field of research concerns Social Integration. She sees this as a social science approach intersecting with the scientific disciplines of Cultural Studies, Philology, and Intellectual History, reflecting on Social Exclusion and Historical Responsibility. It involves the interpretation of texts from the beginning and the middle of the 20th century, that allow to better understand the societal problem of marginalisation and to delineate processes that might reduce exclusion in the 21st century.