Political Science

“Politics is the struggle for proper order.” (Otto Suhr)

Political science is the study of power and sovereignty and the institutions that regulate them. Political science is also always the science of democracy and thus combines analytical and normative perspectives.

Political science offers a bachelor’s degree as well as a consecutive master’s program. The goal of the program is to impart the fundamental knowledge, theories, and methods of political science. During their studies, students develop a sound knowledge of political institutions, policy areas, and political processes at the community, national, and regional level, as well as at the transnational and international level. Political science education focuses mainly on issues of governance in multi-level systems, governance in international and transnational institutions, and political theory and the history of political thought. The master’s program offers two areas of specialization in cooperation with the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the Faculty of Law: comparative and regional studies (VRS) and international political theory (IPT).

The political science subject group teaches students to recognize the political and social contexts of governance and to analyze problems using the knowledge and methods of political science. The program qualifies graduates for careers in government, business, and civil society.

The professors in the political science subject group are involved in diverse research activities, which form the basis of their teaching. The political science professorships represent a variety of research areas. The history of the subject group shows the development of the field from the founding of the University in 1919 until the present.

At present the director of the program is Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schnapp.

Professors

Research

Our professors specialize in a wide range of topics. You can find a more extensive description of each professor’s area of specialization on their individual pages. There are also overarching areas of study that our professors research collaboratively, so as to incorporate different perspectives.

Research center:

Center for Sustainable Society Research

Research units:

Working Group for Research on the Causes of War (AKUF)

Interdisciplinary research group participation:

German Research Foundation (DFG) research group: Needs-based justice and distribution procedures

Research cooperation

Research Laboratory

WiSo Research Laboratory

About us

History of Political Science at Universität Hamburg

1919	Universität Hamburg is founded.
1919–1954	The Faculty of Law and Public Administration (including chairs for sociology and economics) is established.
1928	Siegfried Landshut is the first German scholar to apply for a Habilitation in the "subject of politics." The application is rejected.
1951	Establishment of the first chair for the science of politics (Prof. Dr. Siegfried Landshut).
1954	The Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences is established.
1957	The Seminar of Social Sciences (sociology, political science, economic and social history) is established.
1962	The second chair for political science is established (Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Hennis).
1963	The chair for the science of politics is renamed to the chair for political science.
1969	University reform: Elimination of chairs, establishment of institute councils, establishment of the department with the Seminar of Social Sciences, the Institute of Philosophy, and the Institute of Psychology.
1973	The third political science professorship is established (Prof. Dr. Hans-Hermann Hartwich).
1975	The fourth political science professorship is established (Prof. Dr. Udo Bermbach).
1977	The Seminar of Social Sciences is divided into 3 institutes: Sociology, Political Science, and Social and Economic History. Since then the Institute of Political Science has been called the “IPW.”
1971–1980	With the new Higher Education Act, the internal structure of the Institute is divided into the subject areas of government of the Federal Republic of Germany, comparative government, international politics, political theory, and methods and historical foundations.
2000	The Institute of Philosophy is removed from the Department of Social Sciences.
2000–2001	The Institute undergoes evaluation by the Association of North German Universities.
2005	University reform: The Department of Social Sciences becomes part of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
2008	The Faculty Charter consolidates the founding phase of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences. The Department of Social Sciences introduces new organizational and decision-making structures.
2009	The Institute of Political Science changes its German name from Institut für Politische Wissenschaft to Institut für Politikwissenschaft.
2010	The Institute of Political Science becomes the program area of political science in the Department of Social Sciences.
2016	After changes to the Universität Hamburg Statutes, the Institute of Political Science is called the “political science subject group.”

Former political science professors

The development of the political science subject group has been highly influenced by the people involved in it, especially its professors. The emeriti and retired colleagues can be found in the staff list of the Department of Social Sciences.