Chair of European Politics

The Chair of European Politics focuses on legislative processes in the European Union (EU), with a particular emphasis on issues of inter-institutional negotiations and legislative organization within the European Parliament. Special attention is given to the question of how the complexity of EU laws can be measured and compared, where it originates, and how it impacts various political processes, from policy formulation to implementation. We address these questions within the EUPLEX project, which is funded by the German Research Foundation as an Emmy Noether Research Group.

Additionally, the Chair is involved in broader questions regarding the design of democratic legislation as part of the DEMOLAW project, funded by the European Research Council. How precise and diverse are the contents of democratic laws? What instruments do they include, and who are they directed at? How vague are democratic laws, and how much power do they delegate to the bureaucracy? And to what extent do the answers to these questions vary across policy areas, political systems, and over time? The DEMOLAW project not only examines the origins of different legislative designs but also seeks to understand how laws change over time. In this context, we analyze not only EU laws but also laws from the United Kingdom and the United States using modern methods of computational text analysis.

The Chair also engages with the regulation of private gun ownership in Europe and the reform and effectiveness of gun laws.

The research approach of the Chair is theory-driven, empirical-analytical, and often comparative.

In its courses, the Chair places great importance on enabling students to think independently, critically evaluate the current state of research, and creatively develop their own ideas. Additionally, students should gain a broad understanding of the course content in both theoretical and methodological terms, enabling them to evaluate the respective strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches. In the seminars, the theoretical content is closely linked to the daily political practice in Europe. Both foundational and applied knowledge are taught. Students are actively involved in the teaching process through interactive digital tools. Teaching is conducted in both English and German.

For information about current courses, please refer to the course catalog.