Our research is dedicated to current political developments in Germany and Europe. The focus is on right-wing radicalism, right-wing populism and right-wing extremism as well as their networks and geographical distribution. We also examine the interactions between politics, religion and moral debates as well as political culture and polarization in East and West Germany. Another focus is on digitalization in the social sciences, party and election research and the quality of democratic elections. In addition, we analyze political attitudes and behavior in order to better understand social trends.
Our research deals with comparative analyses of political attitudes, elections and parties in order to better understand social and political developments. Another focus is on political economy, in particular the role of the welfare state and the political consequences of economic inequality. We also examine the impact of global processes on democracies and the challenges that globalization poses for political systems.
We research German foreign policy, European integration and theories of international relations. We examine foreign policy strategies, political and economic cooperation in the EU and the application of various theories to explain power relations, cooperation and conflicts at the global level.
In our research area, we deal with modern theories of democracy and justice as well as theories of deliberative democracy and democratic representation. We examine the functioning of democracies and analyze democratic innovations. We also deal with theories of action and decision-making in order to understand how democratic processes can be optimized and what challenges exist for the implementation of just political decisions.
In our research area, we examine social theories, particularly in the context of capitalism and the critique of capitalism. We deal with various theories of justice and their application to social and economic systems. We also analyze questions of scientific theory and research solidarity as a social phenomenon. Our work also includes institutional economics to understand how global economic structures and institutions influence social justice and political decisions.
Our research area focuses on empirical political research, in particular through (online) survey methodology, experiments and real-time response measurements. We study political attitudes and behaviors, with a focus on electoral research. We analyze how voters make their decisions and which factors influence their behavior. We also study political communication and psychological processes to better understand the dynamics of political opinion formation and the impact of political messages.
Our research area deals with the social, democratic theory and political science foundations of civic education. We develop and analyze concepts of civic education that integrate both theoretical and practical aspects. Another focus is on lesson planning and analysis in order to design effective teaching methods. We also investigate how students perceive politics and society and what concepts they develop of political processes and structures.
