Kickoff Meeting March 2025

Our kickoff meeting took place in Hamburg in March 2025 and marked the official start of our research group’s collaborative work. Over three days, the event brought together senior scholars and junior researchers for intensive exchange and discussion.

On the first day, we welcomed a series of stimulating presentations by Markus Tepe (University of Bremen), Stefan Traub (Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg), Claudia Landwehr (University of Mainz), Nils Steiner (University of Mainz), and Lydia Mechtenberg (University of Hamburg).

The second day was dedicated to parallel discussion sessions, in which our junior researchers presented early-stage projects and received valuable feedback and guidance from the group.

The meeting concluded on the third day with a public panel discussion on “The Future of Democracy.” The panel featured Veith Selk, Claudia Landwehr, Lydia Mechtenberg, and Anselm Hager, and was moderated by Kristina Kara. The discussion provided an opportunity to engage a broader audience and to reflect on the wider societal relevance of our research.