Current News

Congratulations to our double degree master's graduates from Rutgers University and all other master's graduates.

For five days in June 2023 a group of students from the Universidad Católica de Cuyo, from San Juan in Argentina will stay at the department. This stay is part of a visit to three German universities and is sponsored by the DAAD. The visit is coordinated by Dr. Franco Bastias, from the AG Busemeyer.

In an interview with ZDFheute, Prof. Marius Busemeyer explains why many Germans classify themselves in the middle class and what the consequences of this sometimes erroneous assessment are. The full interview in German can be found here.

On 6th of May 2023, the Department of Politics and Public Administration celebrated its successful graduates and said goodbye to them in a wonderful graduation ceremony. Our head of department Prof. Dr. Kunze looked back on the time of study and praised the graduates. Afterwards the certificates were awarded and the best theses were presented. We congratulate all our graduates and wish them all the best for the future.

Prof. Dr. Marius Busemeyer was interviewed in the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit" about the results of the Inequality Barometer by Marius R. Busemeyer, Nanna Lauritz Schönhage, Sharon Baute, Luna Bellani and Guido Schwerdt of the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality". He explains that most people count themselves as middle class although they do not belong to it and why this could be dangerous. He also mentions that rich people underestimate how well off they are. You can find the…

The idea of a basic income in Germany was the topic of the last federal election campaign and is very controversial among the public and the parties. Prof. Marius Busemeyer comments in the newspaper "Der Spiegel" on the findings of the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" on what a basic income capable of achieving a majority would have to look like, how high it would be and who is particularly in favor of it. The entire article in German can be found in here.

Prof. Dr. Marius Busemeyer is appointed to the scientific advisory board of the Berlin-based think tank "Das Progressive Zentrum". "Das Progressive Zentrum" aims to develop and debate ideas for social progress. Here you can get to the website of the think tank.

In the hr2 podcast "Der Tag" with the title "Schaffe, schaffe, abschaffe - Can we afford less work?", Prof. Dr. Florian Kunze comments on the 4-day week, in which industries this would be possible in any case and what the scientific research tells us about efficiency gains in a 4-day week. He explains why rest periods can contribute to productivity and where this could be a hindrance. He also gives insight into the future of modern work and what influences artificial intelligence could have on…

Marius R. Busemeyer, Nanna Lauritz Schönhage, Sharon Baute, Luna Bellani and Guido Schwerdt asked the population in Germany about the distribution of wealth - and where they place themselves. The results show that respondents' perceptions are highly distorted. As in the first survey in 2020, most respondents classify themselves as middle class and thus misjudge their financial situation compared with the population as a whole. In doing so, they underestimate how much wealthier others are…