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Research Projects
Doing DDI – The Policy Process of Establishing the German Data Institute
The research project "Doing DDI – The Policy Process of Establishing the German Data Institute" examines the foundation and development of the German Data Institute (DDI) (GER), which was outlined in the 2021 coalition agreement. The institute aims to enhance data availability and standardization while establishing data trustee models and licensing frameworks. In a rapidly evolving data landscape, the project analyzes the political processes, decisions, and strategies that led to the institute’s creation. The goal is to accompany and examine the establishment of the DDI within the broader context of contemporary data economy and governance.
Key research questions include: What political and societal conditions contributed to the creation of the DDI? Which actors played a crucial role in the decision-making process? How does the institute fit into the governance of data access? The project employs an integrated approach, combining document analysis, interviews with key stakeholders, and network analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of these developments.
Through collaborations with partners such as Polit-XGermaParl/PolMine and https://polmine.github.io/, the project builds a robust data foundation. Additionally, plans include an interactive website for visualizing data governance, academic publications, as well as workshops and dialogue formats with established data trustees.
The project team consists of Prof. Dr. Isabelle Borucki (lead researcher), Marlon-Benedikt George, and an additional team member. The project runs from September 2024 to August 2025 and is funded by ZEVEDI (GER).
Not in my Parliament (NIMP)
Harassment of female politicians and parliamentary staff is increasingly recognized as a serious issue, as highlighted by the #NotInMyParliament campaign and a UN report. However, a systematic investigation - especially concerning male politicians - has been lacking. This research project examines violence and gender in the German Bundestag without preconceived notions about gender roles.
The study considers physical, sexual, and psychological violence against all genders, emphasizing that violence itself is not gendered. While violence is seen as an anthropological constant, its perception and legitimacy are shaped by historical and cultural contexts and are unequally distributed along gender lines.
The project's goal is to systematically analyze violence in political institutions using both quantitative and qualitative methods. It examines the prevalence of violence, characteristics of those affected, different manifestations, public perception, institutional responses, and the broader consequences for political participation and democratic processes.
The Left-Right Symbolism in the Context of the 2021 German Federal Election
The left-right symbolism has been a persistent feature in politics for decades, serving as a shorthand for different ideological orientations and their associated political actors. Despite being repeatedly declared outdated or obsolete, it remains deeply ingrained in media discourse, party politics, and public perception. However, its continued relevance is shaped by recurring shifts in meaning, which help explain its durability. As a subject of academic research, it has a long tradition, continuously raising both longstanding and emerging questions.
This self-funded research project explores both methodological and substantive aspects of the topic. First, a content analysis of TV news—Germany’s most widely used source of political information—aims to identify the contexts, meanings, and frequency of left-right symbolism to capture a key segment of its "supply side." Second, a quasi-experimental online survey among eligible voters examines the common understanding of these directional terms and assesses how different verbal and visual representations, as well as contextualizations of the classic left-right scale, influence response behavior. Third, another online survey among voters investigates how respondents position themselves, various political parties, and political and societal institutions along the left-right spectrum and what effects these self-placements have on voting preferences.
European and National Identification: Causes, Forms, and Consequences for Solidarization and Desolidarization (EUNIDES)
The European Union has been struggling with the fact that the populations of its member states have only a moderate sense of identification with Europe and European institutions. While there was once talk of a permissive consensus regarding European integration, increasing skepticism toward the EU has spread since the Eastern enlargement and several crises (financial crisis, banking scandals, refugee movements). National interests have once again come to the forefront, right-wing populist and anti-European parties have become more successful, and state-level desolidarization from the EU and other member states has expanded. These processes may increasingly threaten cohesion within Europe.
This project addresses questions regarding (a) the development of identifications with the nation and the EU/Europe, (b) the forms of such identifications (ethnic, cultural, civic-political, and economic), (c) their causes, and (d) their consequences for European solidarity.
Partner:
Prof. Dr. Christopher Cohrs (FB04 Psychologie: Arbeitseinheit Sozialpsychologie)
Prof. Dr. Martin Schröder (FB03 Gesellschaftswissenschaften und Philosophie: Institut für Soziologie)
Prof. Dr. Bettina Westle (FB03 Gesellschaftswissenschaften und Philosophie: Institut für Politikwissenschaft)
Team: Dr. Linus Peitz, Isabell Müller, Katrin Grimm, Philipp König
It is a project funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) for the years 2021 to 2023 within the framework of basic research projects on the topic of "Cohesion in Europe."
"Pension – Ignorant into the Crisis? Knowledge as a Determinant of the Acceptance of the Pension System"
Following the comprehensive reforms to the pension system in recent decades, persistent concerns have emerged in politics and the media about whether the public has sufficient acceptance of the chosen reorganizations. The deep cuts in the benefit levels of social security were justified to the public with cognitively demanding necessity arguments and a new standard of justice. Accordingly, the question arises as to whether the cognitive prerequisites (background knowledge and understanding of these arguments) are present in the population and whether they actually contribute sufficiently to the acceptance of the reformed pension system. The previous research contributions are primarily exploratory and, given the predominantly qualitative and experimental studies, are not generalizable.
The research project, led by Prof. Dr. Bettina Westle and funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, investigates the extent to which there is acceptance of the reformed pension system in the population and where gaps and problems exist. The central determinants of attitudes toward the new pension system include (a) knowledge about demographic change and the functioning of the statutory pension insurance system, as well as reliance on heuristics; (b) normative concepts of justice and perceptions of fairness; (c) self-interests, and (d) generational relationships.
Project duration: 2020 - 2023
Team: Daniel Moosdorf M.A.; Yannick Diehl (Student Research Assistant)
"Crisis of Gender Relations? Anti-Feminism as a Crisis Phenomenon with Divisive Societal Potential" (REVERSE)
In response to the changing gender relations, a broad spectrum of opposition to state equality policies, gender studies, and the further liberalization of gender relations is forming in Germany. The discourse surrounding the so-called 'gender madness' is often highly polemical.
Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Annette Henninger, the interdisciplinary research project REVERSE, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), examines anti-feminist discourse production and its actor and target groups. Five case studies allow for an in-depth examination of different discourse fields, with cross-connections also being explored.
Project duration: 01.10.2017 - 31.01.2020
Team: Prof. Ursula Birsl, Ferdinand Backöfer, Dr. Denise Bergold-Caldwell, Christopher Fritzsche, Dr. Barbara Grubner, Dr. Helga Krüger-Kirn, Prof. Susanne Maurer, Dr. Marion Näser-Lather, Leyla Tichy