Information for
Quick links
Faculties
News
Talk by Prof Daniela Braun in Heidelberg
On 3 May, Prof. Daniela Braun will give a talk at the Europe Weeks organised by the Franco-German Cultural Circle in her former place of study, Heidelberg. The talk is entitled "The 2024 European elections - a Franco-German analysis in the run-up" and will take place in the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus from 18:00. It will be followed by a drink in the bakery. In her talk , Prof Daniela Braun will compare the German and French perspectives on the European elections: What are the differences in the process, what expectations are associated with the elections in the two countries and are European elections European?
Panel discussion "Why gender studies?"
On 8 May, the panel discussion "Why gender studies?" will take place in the Ratshausfestsaal Saarbrücken from 6 to 8 pm. The panel discussion is part of the lecture series "Facets of Diversity - Gender Research and its Significance for Society" and the UdS Diversity Weeks 2024. It will be followed by a comic reading by Elisabeth Pich.
Guests:
- Prof Andrea Geier (CePoG Trier)
- Prof Ulrike Zöller (htw saar)
- Prof Astrid Fellner (UdS)
- L Crescimone (Queer-Referat AStA UdS)
- Dr Sybille Jung (Equal Opportunities Office UdS)
Moderation: Dr Lisa Juliane Schneider (Women's Representative LH Saarbrücken)
Event info: Prof. Michaela Maier (RPTU): "Shades of EU scepticism 2024"
As part of the lecture series "Politics in Europe" of the joint political science colloquium of the chairs of Prof. Dr Daniela Braun and Prof. Dr Georg Wenzelburger, a lecture will take place on 2 May 2024.
Prof Dr Michaela Maier is Professor of Communication Psychology at the Institute of Communication Psychology and Media Education at the Rhineland-Palatinate University of Technology Kaiserslautern-Landau. In her lecture entitled "Shades of EU secpticism 2024", she summarises how Eurosceptic and pro-European parties strategically communicated their respective positions during the election campaign for the last European elections and compares the results with materials from the current election campaign.
Lecture: "What data and AI reveal about the world - new opportunities and risks"
Prof Dr Daniela Braun and Prof Dr Ingmar Weber will give a lecture entitled "What data and AI reveal about the world - new opportunities and risks" on 24 April from 6 to 8 p.m. in building E1 7 on the UdS campus. The interdisciplinary lecture serves as an excursion destination for the course "ChatGPT and co - Understanding Artificial Intelligence" organised by the Protestant Academy in Saarland.
Lecture: "European elections 2024 - how motivated are the parties and voters to get involved?"
As part of the Open Day programme, Prof Dr Braun will give an insight into political science. The European elections will take place in Germany on 9 June 2024. Against this background, we would like to look at the motivations of voters as well as the parties standing for election on the previous day. These elections are the only direct elections at European level. They were introduced over forty years ago to strengthen the importance of the parliament in the institutional system of the European Union (EU) and at the same time to increase the democratic legitimacy of the confederation of states. At the same time, these elections are known for their characterisation as less important elections with comparatively low voter turnout and little interest on the part of the population. The lecture will take place from 12:00 in room 0.03, building B3 2.
Presentation in Spain on political parties in border regions
From 1 to 5 April, Dr. Rosa Navarrete attended the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain) with funding from the Erasmus+ Staff Training Mobility program. During her stay she engaged in teaching and research activities and presented her work done in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun, Dr. Giuseppe Carteny, Dr. Alexander Hartland and Djamila Jabra about political parties in border regions in the context of the lecture series of the Research Group "Elites and Political Actors".
Series of lectures: "Politics in Europe"
As part of a joint political science colloquium of the chairs of Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun (focus on European Integration and International Relations) and Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger (Comparative European Studies) of the Department of European Social Research and the Cluster for European Studies CEUS, the lecture series "Politics in Europe" will take place again in the summer semester with three contributions:
02.05.2024, 16:30-18:00, Building B3 1, Room 0.13
Prof. Michaela Maier (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau)
Shades of EU scepticism 2024
Event information
18.06.2024, 16:30-18:00, Building C1 7, Room 0.08
Dr. Paul C. Bauer (Uni Freiburg)
Is there an Affective Component of Political Trust Ratings in Surveys?
Event information will follow shortly
25.07.2024,16:30-18:00, Building B3 1, Room 0.13
Dr. Martin Gross (LMU München)
How Salient is Cohesion Policy for Regional Governments? Empirical Evidence from Germany
Event information
Interested parties are cordially invited to attend. Please register in advance at vinciane.pilz(at)uni-saarland.de.
"Who cares about Europe?" - Dossier of the bpb
What is the state of public support for the EU? How do international crises influence political trust? And how are the EU institutions perceived? These questions are addressed in a dossier by Prof Daniela Braun, published by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) under the title "Who cares about Europe: Public opinion on the European Union and its elections".
Podcast episode of the State Agency for Civic Education of Baden-Württemberg with Prof Daniela Braun
For the "Politisch bildet" podcast, the State Agency for Civic Education of Baden-Württemberg has invited Prof Daniela Braun as a discussion partner. The episode entitled "European elections 2024: Are the European elections European enough?" focuses on the relevance of the European elections for the population, the effects of the lowered voting age in the upcoming European elections this year and, of course, the question of how European the European elections are. Towards the end, Prof Braun will give tips to first-time voters on how to make the decision to vote easier. Prof Braun wrote an analysis on the topic for the state agency's magazine "Deutschland & Europa" last year.
Lectures for the public lecture series "Facets of diversity - gender research and its significance for society" have been announced
The lecture series "Facets of Diversity - Gender Research and its Significance for Society" is organised by Prof Daniela Braun and Prof Astrid Fellner and is part of the Diversity Week programme initiated by the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Management Office. In terms of content, it poses questions, offers answers and aims to illuminate and discuss the significance of various diversity factors in science and society. Based on the latest findings from feminist theory, gender, queer and trans studies as well as empirical gender research, selected experts from various research areas will provide an insight into recent research areas and current research approaches in the humanities, cultural studies, social sciences, law and natural sciences. Exciting findings from current research projects will be explained and the significance of this research and its findings for society will be demonstrated. The events are open to all interested parties without registration and are free of charge.
The lectures of the public lecture series have been published in a press release.
Information on the overall programme of Diversity Week 2024 can be found here.
Further information
UACES panel discussion with Prof Daniela Braun
The University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) is hosting a panel discussion on 27 March 2024 entitled "Beyond the Ballot Box: Domestic Politics & the Future of the European Union", in which Prof Daniela Braun will participate. The webinar will focus on the upcoming European elections and how the challenges of the last five years will affect the election and what influence domestic events and elections of the individual EU member states will have.
Djamila Jabra elected as ECIB spokesperson
From 20 to 22 March 2024, the 17th Early Career Conference on International Relations of the DVPW took place at the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing. Djamila Jabra, M.A. gave a presentation entitled "From Warnings to Wars - A Comprehensive Review of IPCC Reports on Climate and Conflicts" as part of her doctoral project. She was also elected to the team of speakers of the Early Career Group International Relations (ECIB).
Interview with Prof Daniela Braun on Saarländischer Rundfunk
An interview with Prof Daniela Braun was featured in the "Aktueller Bericht" programme on Saarländischer Rundfunk on 21 March 2024 on the topic of crises. Prof Braun spoke about the influence of crises on politics, to what extent they pose a threat, but also to what extent they offer opportunities to enable a rethink. The programme is available in German in the ARD media library, the report starts at minute 14:00, the interview at 16:45.
Programme in the ARD media library
EU project ActEU turns one year old
The Horizon-funded EU project ActEU has now been running for a year. Prof Daniela Braun and Dr Alex Hartland will present the first results in June at the conference Emotional Dynamics of (In)security and Politics at Saarland University, in July at the annual EPSA conference in Cologne and in September at the DVPW Congress in Göttingen.
The ActEU project aims to find answers to the following questions: How can we conceptualise and empirically measure political trust and legitimacy beyond the usual survey question "How much trust do you have in the Parliament?"? Does the multi-level nature of European representative democracies require an identical level of support from citizens at regional, national and EU level? To what extent does social polarisation on key political issues of our time - immigration, climate change and gender inequality - challenge political trust in democratic political systems and their legitimacy? And what can political decision-makers and civil society do to overcome these challenges?
Presentation of the "ProConEU" project at the Conference of European Affairs Ministers
On 20 March 2024, the project "ProConEU - Proponents and Opponents of the European Union: The Consequences of an Increasing Divide in Europe" of the BMBF funding line "Cohesion in Europe" will be presented at the meeting of the Standing Working Group of the Conference of European Affairs Ministers. The aim of the project, led by Prof Dr Daniela Braun, was to investigate the consequences of increasing division in and for Europe in the areas of party politics, the behaviour and attitudes of the electorate and the new social media.
New seminar on the 2024 European elections
As part of the seminar "The 2024 European Elections: Issues, Parties and Voters", students at Saarland University, led by Prof Dr Daniela Braun, will be developing topics for the online voting tool Voto (similar to Wahl-O-Mat).
The European elections are (so far) characterised as so-called "second-order elections": i.e. they are characterised by low participation and low interest among the population. At the same time, however, more and more Eurosceptic parties are winning these elections and political decisions are increasingly being made at EU level. In this respect, public attention may have increased as a result. Against this background, we will take a closer look at the election campaign, voting behaviour, the parties and the voters around the European elections.
The seminar is part of a block seminar entitled "Super election year 2024 in Saarland: European and local elections" with Prof. Dr Georg Wenzelburger, in whose seminar theses on local political issues will be developed.
Talk by Prof Braun at the practical day of the Master of Public Policy programme at the University of Duisburg-Essen
At the practical day of the Master of Public Policy at the University of Duisburg-Essen on 6 March 2024, Prof. Daniela Braun will give a talk entitled "Elections in the EU: European Institutions, Parties and Policies". This will be followed by a discussion with the audience. The practical day with the topic "Super election year 2024: Elections in Germany, the EU and worldwide" will take place at the NRW School of Governance.
Full programme of the practical day
Facets of diversity: gender research and its significance for society
Prof. Dr Daniela Braun and Prof. Dr Astrid M. Fellner
Every wednesday 18-20h c.t. (17.04. to 24.07.)
Location: Town hall and UdS campus (Building B3 2, Room 0.03)
In cooperation with the Gender Studies Forum of the UdS, the Equal Opportunities Office of the UdS, the Queer Working Group of the UdS, the ZelL, the htw, the Women's Office of the City of Saarbrücken and the FrauenGenderBibliothek Saar
What actually is gender research? What does it deal with? And why is the consideration of gender and other diversity factors an important aspect of many scientific disciplines and why is this important for society? To what extent are other dimensions of social, ethnic, cultural and sexual differentiation processes connected? The interdisciplinary lecture series "Facets of Diversity: Gender Research and its Significance for Society" poses questions, offers answers and aims to shed light on and discuss the significance of various diversity factors in science and society. Based on the latest findings from feminist theory, gender, queer and trans studies as well as empirical gender research, selected experts from various research areas will provide an insight into recent research areas and current research approaches in the humanities, cultural studies, social sciences, law and natural sciences.
BGA European Committee event with Prof. Daniela Braun
The European Committee of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), which represents the interests of the German economy, is organising a digital exchange on 5 March 2024 with Prof. Daniela Braun as keynote speaker.
The event, chaired by BGA Vice President and Committee Chairman Till Blässinger, will focus on the European elections on 9 June and questions about the future of the European Union: How must the EU be shaped so that trust in it grows again? How can we achieve long-term stability, less bureaucracy and a competitive economic area? The aim of the event is for as many companies as possible that are members of the BGA to enter into a constructive dialogue with the European level in order to increase interest in the elections and exchange views on current forecasts.
Further information (in German)
Event information: Presentation of Prof Dr Armin Schäfer
The lecture of Dr Armin Schäfer (Uni Mainz): 'Sore losers? Populism and the acceptance of election results in Europe' on 23 January 2023, 16:30-18:00, Building B3 2, HS 0.03 as part of the lecture series 'Politics in Europe' of the joint political science colloquium of the chairs of Prof. Dr Daniela Braun and Prof. Dr Georg Wenzelburger is CANCELED!
Prof Dr Armin Schäfer has been a Professor of Comparative Politics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz since April 2022. He began his academic career by studying political science and economics at the Philipps University of Marburg. After completing his studies, he earned his doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne in 2004 and then worked as a research assistant at the University of Bremen.
In 2014, Armin Schäfer completed his habilitation at the Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg and accepted a professorship in political science specialising in 'International Comparative Political Economy' at the University of Osnabrück. He later moved to the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, specialising in comparative politics, and returned to the MPI as a visiting researcher. Armin Schäfer has also been the spokesperson for the Political Economy section since 2012 and a member of the board of the German Political Science Association since 2015.
Tagesschau interview with Daniela Braun: How trust in politics can be restored
In a personal interview with Corinna Emundts, federal political correspondent for tagesschau.de, Prof Daniela Braun looks back on the political year of the 'traffic light' coalition and, against the backdrop of the last budget debates, examines the question of whether politics, and the coalition in particular, is experiencing a crisis of confidence – and if so, what could be the reason for this and what could be done to change it.
New publication on "How European are the European elections?"
In their article published in the Zeitschrift für Gemeinschaftskunde, Geschichte und Wirtschaft, Prof Dr Daniela Braun and Prof Dr Markus Tausendpfund explore the question of how European the European elections are.
"From 6 to 9 June 2024, the citizens of the European Union (EU) will be asked to elect the European Parliament (EP) for the tenth time. MEPs have been directly elected since 1979. The aim of these elections was to strengthen the role of the Parliament in the EU's institutional system and to address the much-cited democratic deficit in the EU. Nevertheless, since their introduction, the European elections have been known for their secondary election character" Full article
Policy webinar "Europe has the choice - programmes and economic perspectives for the future of Europe" with Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun
On Tuesday, 05.12.2023 from 10:00-16:00 there will be a policy webinar organised by ISWA on the above lecture.
The webinar, organised by the Institute for Social and Economic Policy Education (ISWA), will focus on the upcoming European elections and the fundamental question: What are the priorities that European policy should focus on? Various topics will be discussed with experts from politics, business, science and the media. Prof. Dr Daniela Braun, Professor of Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations at Saarland University, together with Dr Manuel Müller, Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and founder of the blog The (European) Federalist, Helsinki (Finland), will discuss the topic of forecasts for majorities in the European Parliament - significance for decision-making, economic policy and Europe as a business location.
Further information and registration
Dialogue evening on the climate crisis, transformation and democracy
As part of the "Baustelle Nachhaltigkeit" lecture series, Jonas Schaible, Spiegel editor and author of the book "Demokratie im Feuer. Warum wir die Freiheit nur bewahren, wenn wir das Klima retten - und umgekehrt" will be speaking on Wednesday, 6 December from 6 p.m. in the main hall of the vhs-Zentrum at the Schloss (Am Schloßplatz 2, 66119 Saarbrücken, 1st floor) on the topic of the climate crisis, transformation and democracy.
In the subsequent discussion with Dr Frank Nägele, Saarland Commissioner for Structural Change, Jörn Didas, Director of the Adolf Bender Centre and Prof. Dr Daniela Braun, political scientist at Saarland University, these and other questions will be explored in greater depth. Ulrike Dausend, Network Coordinator of the One World Promoter Programme in Saarland and Managing Director of NES e.V., will moderate the event.
Student assistant in the EU-funded project ActEU to start on 15 January 2024
As part of the EU-funded project ActEU, the Chair of Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations is looking for a student assistant with 8 hours per week to support research activities from 15 January 2024.
To apply, please send your CV and a letter of motivation (as a single pdf) with the subject "Student Assistant Application" to Alex Hartland by 30 November 2023.Call for applications
Event information: Dr Isabelle Guinaudeau (Science Po Paris): "Mandates, Pledge fulfilment and Representation in France and Germany"
Lecture on 21 November 2023, 16:15-17:45, Building B3 2, HS 0.03 as part of the lecture series "Politics in Europe" of the joint political science colloquium of the chairs of Prof. Dr Daniela Braun and Prof. Dr Georg Wenzelburger.
Dr Isabelle Guinaudeau holds a double degree in social sciences from Sciences Po Bordeaux and the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Stuttgart. She also completed a Master's degree in German language, literature and culture at the Université de Strasbourg. She completed her Franco-German doctorate in political science at Sciences Po Bordeaux and the University of Stuttgart with summa cum laude honours. In addition to her position as a CNRS researcher at Sciences Po Paris, she is a visiting professor at the University of Zurich.
Her research focuses on comparative politics, party competition, European integration, parties in policymaking and policy analysis. In recent years, she has been studying, among other things, public support for European integration in a comparison of time and countries, the conditions for the implementation of electoral programmes, contemporary changes in political parties in a Franco-German comparison and the significance of party programmes in policy-making.
Interested parties are cordially invited to register in advance at Vinciane Pilz.View complete programme
Student assistant to begin on 15 January 2024
The Chair of Prof. Dr Daniela Braun for Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations in the Department of European Social Research has a vacancy for a student assistant (without a degree) for eight hours per week from 15 January 2024.
To apply, please send your CV and letter of motivation in one file to Vinciane Pilz by 30 November 2023.
Lecture series "Politics in Europe"
As part of a joint political science colloquium of the chairs of Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun (focus on European Integration and International Relations) and Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger (Comparative European Studies) of the Department of European Social Research and the Cluster for European Studies CEUS, the lecture series "Politics in Europe" will take place in the winter semester with three contributions (see poster).
Interested parties are cordially invited to attend. Please register in advance at Vinciane Pilz.
Lecture "Representative democracy in decline"
On October 19, Alex Hartland gave his lecture "Representative democracy in decline" at Fraunhofer ISI. He presented an overview of the ActEU project.
The ISI lecture series bundles exciting topics from the Fraunhofer ISI portfolio and offers opportunities for discussion and exchange at regular intervals.
CEUS Conference "Border Regions as Laboratories for European Research"
On 9 and 10 October 2023, the interdisciplinary conference of the CEUS (Cluster for European Research) took place at the Villa Europa in Saarbrücken with the theme "Border Regions as Laboratories of European Research". The starting point was the assumption that Europe's political, social, legal, historical, cultural and linguistic fault lines become more prominent in inner-European border regions, as became clear, for example, during the so-called "refugee crisis" and the Corona pandemic, when border regions were particularly affected by controls or even border closures. However, quite independently of these crisis phases, it can be assumed that in such inner-European border regions certain developments that are given within Europe or the multi-level system of the EU are more prominent (e.g. support for politics in Europe; identification with the EU; European party politics).
Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun was the moderator of the conference and Dr. Rosa Navarrete, Dr. Giuseppe Carteny, Dr. Alex Hartland and Djamila Jabra, M.A. also participated from the chair team.
TEPSA Training: "Inside the European Parliament"
Prof. Daniela Braun will participate in the Trans European Policy Studies Association's online seminar from 11-13 October 2023. 20 students will have an opportunity to gain first-hand insights from researchers, EU practitioners, and policymakers on the functioning of the European Parliament, its role in the complex architecture of EU governance, and the role of youth electoral participation. The event takes place in the framework of the ActEU project.
New publication by Dr Rosa M. Navarrete
"Protecting the climate to challenge the centre? Secessionism and climate policy preferences in Catalonia"
Climate policy is mostly ruled by national governments, which in multi-level systems creates tensions with sub-national tiers. In this research, the authors analyse whether the salience of climate change in the manifestos of parties competing in the 2017 and 2021 Catalan regional elections varies between them and if these differences are associated with the aforementioned cleavage. The empirical findings reveal that the prominence given to climate change in the manifestos of the parties studied tends to be higher the more pro-periphery the positions of parties are, and the more salient decentralisation and independence.
Interview series "life after the PhD": Alex Hartland
"Life after the PhD" is a series of interviews conducted with former University of Manchester postgraduate students, discussing the multiple paths available for students once they finish their doctoral research. In this issue, a summary of the conversation with Alex Hartland is presented, who finished his PhD in Politics at the University of Manchester to take on a role as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Saarland, Germany.
New article by Prof. Daniela Braun in the Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft
"Arising calls for national sovereignty in times of European crises and the political Zeitenwende"
The recent periods of multiple crises go hand in hand with calls for more national sovereignty. Drawing on data provided by the Manifesto Project, this contribution seeks to study empirically how widespread the wish to ‘take back control’ is reflected through political parties all over Europe. We show that although ‘sovereignist’ issues across EU member states were not among the political top priorities in the past, parties’ issue emphasis has increased in the shadow of the last decade’s multiple crises. On top of that, we argue that sovereignist aspirations have the potential to further increase alongside upcoming international challenges. In particular, events such as the Russian-Ukrainian war and the declared Zeitenwende may raise calls for more national sovereignty.
Read article or download article
Lecture by Prof. Daniela Braun
"How can we Measure, Study and Improve Citizens' Dissatisfaction with Representative Democracy in the EU's Multi-level System?" - Prof. Daniela Braun will give a lecture on this topic on 19 September 2023 from 12-13:30. This will provide an insight into the ActEU project funded by Horizon Europe.
The event will take place in building A 5 6 in room A 231. Further information
Dr Rosa Navarrete in a podcast on the situation in Spain
Spain does not yet have a majority capable of governing. The separatist Carles Puigdemont and his party could now be decisive.
Detektor.fm presenter Nina Potzel spoke with Dr Rosa Navarrete about the political situation in Spain. She comments on the situation in the podcast "Government with separatists?".
New research institute "Interdisciplinary Institute for Societal Computing (I2SC)"
On 7 and 8 September 2023, the "Interdisciplinary Institute for Societal Computing (I2SC)" will be inaugurated at Saarland University with a two-day symposium. The institute promotes interdisciplinary research at Saar University and offers a platform for exchange between social sciences, humanities and computer sciences. It is headed by Ingmar Weber, Humboldt Professor of Artificial Intelligence, and Daniela Braun, Professor of Political Science. Read full article
Official announcement of the new focus of the Bachelor's degree programme in European Studies "Politics - Law - Society"
How does the interaction of political institutions in Europe work? What influence do national governments have? And how do culture and economy differ in the individual EU member states? These are the questions that the new focus of the Bachelor's programme in European Studies examines, concentrating on politics, law and society in Europe. Enrolment in the admission-free degree programme is still possible until 30 September. This article officially announces the new specialisation.
Dr. Rosa Navarrete talks to BBC about the election results in Spain
Dr. Rosa Navarrete is a research assistant at the Chair of Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations in the Department of European Social Research. She is an expert in the field of politics in Spain and was interviewed by the BBC about the results and their interpretation in the context of the current electoral events in Spain.
Translation by Dr. Navarrete in English
Presentation of the degree programme "European Studies: Politics - Law - Society (B.A.)"
Three questions - three answers: in this video, Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun, Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger and Prof. Dr. Martin Schröder introduce the Bachelor's programme "European Studies" with a specialisation in Politics - Law - Society at Saarland University. They answer the questions: "What can I expect during my studies?", "Why should I study in Saarbrücken?" and "What job opportunities will I have afterwards?".
Event information: Prof. Dr. Joachim Schild (University of Trier): "Deutsch-französische Beziehungen in der Zeitwende"
Lecture as part of the series "Politik in Europa" on 13.07.2023, 16:30-18 h, Building B2 2, HS II (R. 1.08)
Prof. Dr. Joachim Schild of the University of Trier will give his lecture as a part of the series "Politik in Europa", which is organised as part of the political science colloquium of the two chairs of political science Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun (focus on European Integration and International Relations) and Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger (Comparative European Politics) of the Department of European Social Research and the Cluster for European Studies CEUS.
The speaker, Prof. Dr. Joachim Schild, is Professor of Political Science/Comparative Politics at the University of Trier. His research focuses on French European policy, Franco-German relations, political economy of European integration and the political system of the V French Republic.
Interested persons are cordially invited, pre-registration to Vinciane.Pilz(at)uni-saarland.de is requested.
Event information: Dr. Katjana Gattermann (University of Amsterdam): "The personalization of politics in the European Union"
Lecture by Dr. Katjana Gattermann (University of Amsterdam) as part of the series "Politik in Europa" on 20.06.2023, 16:30-18:00, Building B3 1, R. 0.14.
Dr. Katjana Gattermann from the University of Amsterdam will give her lecture in the lecture series "Politik in Europa", which is organised as part of the political science colloquium of the two chairs of political science Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun (focus on European Integration and International Relations) and Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger (Comparative European Politics) of the Department of European Social Research and the Cluster for European Studies CEUS.
The speaker, Dr Katjana Gattermann, is a researcher at the University of Amsterdam in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, specialising in Political Communication and Journalism. Research interests include political communication, political behaviour, public opinion, journalism and legislative behaviour with a regional focus on the European Union. Her work addresses issues concerning the relationship between representatives and representatives and, in particular, the unifying role of the media in this relationship, thus feeding into debates on the legitimacy and accountability of politics.
Interested persons are cordially invited to attend. Please register in advance at Vinciane.Pilz(at)uni-saarland.de.
Prof. Daniela Braun is a member of the CEUS Board of Directors
As the central academic institution of Saarland University, the Cluster for European Studies (CEUS) offers European researchers at the University an interdisciplinary platform for exchanging ideas, networking and implementing joint research and project ideas. The board of directors is composed of three interdisciplinary members of the college, each of whom belongs to one of the three participating faculties (Empirical Human Sciences and Economics HW, Faculty of Philosophy P, Faculty of Law R).
We are pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hermann Schmitt as a visiting scholar at Saarland University!
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hermann Schmitt's research interests include the following:
- Party democracy, in particular the conditions and mechanisms of the responsiveness of political parties to changes in the policy preferences of their electorates
- European elections (which he, together with Karl-Heinz Reif, first characterised as "second-order elections" in 1980)
- Questions of political representation
- Public opinion, especially the emergence of policy moods and the problem of non-attitudes
He examines these questions with regard to German politics and the multi-level system of the European Union, but also in international comparison. Methodologically, this mostly involves international comparative survey analyses and quantitative content analyses, as well as the linking of both. For a long time, he was one of the main authors ofEuropean Election Studies.
His habilitation (venia legendi for political science) took place at the Free University of Berlin and at the University of Mannheim, his doctorate in social sciences (Dr. sc. pol.) at the University of Duisburg. Hermann Schmitt is Professor Emeritus of Electoral Politicsat the University of Manchester and is a Research Fellowat the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES).
New publication by Dr. Rosa M. Navarrete and Marc Debus: "The Importance of EU Issues in German Elections"
The decision-making processes employed by German politicians and voters in elections to the German Bundestag matter decisively for policy-making at the European level. When casting their vote, German voters choose their representatives and are in a position to use federal elections to keep European Union (EU) policy accountable and better defend their national interests. Nevertheless, the German press and political parties—with the exception of those on the radical right, like the Alternative for Germany (AfD—Alternative für Deutschland)—tend not to use EU issues to mobilize voters and do not politicize EU integration policy. This pro-European vocation would suggest there is no place for EU issue voting in Germany; however, this is not the case. This contribution disentangles the apparent consensus about the EU and assesses the nuances that indicate the Europeanization of German elections.
Series of lectures: "Politik in Europa"
In the summer semester 2023, the lecture series "Politik in Europa" will take place as part of a joint colloquium of the two chairs of political science Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun (focus on European Integration and International Relations) and Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger (Comparative European Politics) - both political science chairs at the Cluster for European Studies CEUS. Event poster
Unfortunately, the lecture by Ms Isabelle Guinaudeau announced for 11.05.2023 had to be cancelled at short notice. A colloquium of our political science chairs of the Department of European Social Research of the CEUS Cluster is planned again for the winter semester 23/24, in which she will present her lecture. As soon as the planning is finalised, we will be happy to forward the exact event information to everyone interested.
The other event dates remain unchanged and we look forward to a lively participation!
Please register in advance at Vinciane.Pilz(at)uni-saarland.de. You will then be informed of the respective rooms by e-mail.
New research projects on democracy promotion and gender-related party politics in Europe
How can political trust be strengthened and how can gender-related issues be adequately taken into account in party politics? Two new European research consortia are dealing with these questions on European politics. Daniela Braun, professor of Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations and a member of the Cluster for European Studies at Saarland University, is involved in them.
Latest publication
New publication on the topic of pan-European parties: What are pan-European parties, how have pan-European party activities developed and what are their major challenges?
Invitation to the inaugural lecture
The Department of European Social Research cordially invites you to the joint inaugural lecture of Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun, Prof. Dr. Martin Schröder and Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger on Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 4:30 pm.
The event will take place in the large lecture hall, building A1 7.
Further information can be found in the invitation.
Europe Podium 2023: Between Europeanisation and Renationalisation. How much political trust does the EU generate?
Panel discussion on Thursday, 19 January 2023 at 6:30 pm in the Festival Hall of St. Johann Town Hall. Discussing:
- Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun (Saarland University)
- Patrick Lobis (Representation of the European Commission in Germany, EU Regional Office in Bonn)
- Prof. Dr. Birte Wassenberg (Sciences Po Strasbourg)
- Moderation: Marc-André Kruppa (Saarländischer Rundfunk)
For further information, please see the invitation.
60 Years of the Élysée Treaty: Interview with Professor Daniela Braun
On Sunday it will be 60 years since the Élysée Treaty was signed and 60 years later Europe seems to be at a crossroads: Some would like to dare more Europe, others are once again increasingly sounding nationalistic tones. Where is Europe heading? And what role do Germany and France play in it?
A conversation between Prof. Daniela Braun and Katrin Aue on SR 2 on 17 January 2023.
Recent publication: "Who holds the union together? Citizens’ preferences for European Union cohesion in challenging times"
Although polarisation risks breaking up the European family, such conflicts paired with transnational challenges can also raise awareness of the need for more European Union (EU) cohesion. In order to approach the hitherto underspecified concept, this article connects the recent literature on social cohesion with research on various facets of public EU support – integration preferences, identity, voting behaviour, and solidarity. Building on survey data from 10 EU countries taken at the end of 2020, a latent class analysis identifies two distinct groups of preferences for EU cohesion: its friends and its foes. EU cohesion can be achieved by highlighting personal advantages of European integration and by stressing joint approaches to crises, civic education, and democratic processes.
Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun: New Professor of Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations
Prof. Daniela Braun, formerly Academic Councillor at the Geschwister Scholl Institute of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, is the new Professor of Political Science with a focus on European Integration and International Relations.