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Comparative Government

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Image: Andreas Bauermeister

Head of the subdivision Comparative Government (and at the moment head of the department)

Torsten Oppelland, apl. Prof. Dr
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Portrait Torsten Oppelland
Image: Anne Günther (University of Jena)
Room 434
Carl-Zeiß-Straße 3
07743 Jena Google Maps site planExternal link

Secretariat

Ines Schildhauer
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Photo of Ines Schildhauer
Image: Ines Schildhauer
Room 438
Carl-Zeiß-Straße 3
07743 Jena Google Maps site planExternal link

Research Focuses

  • Democratic regimes and the conditions for their stability
  • Autocratic and hybrid regimes
  • Parties and party systems on regional, national and European level
  • Political cultures and politics of memory
  • Subnational government and federalism

Outline of the subdivision

Comparison is a method, not a content. At many universities, the term “comparative politics” developed into a synonym for comparing policies and their consequences; not in Jena though. We intentionally use the term “comparative government” to emphasize, that polities are in the focus of our teaching and research, with an emphasis on comparing political parties, party systems, political cultures, and federalism. This may seem like a very traditional approach at the first glance but a growing bulk of academic literature on “how democracies die” proves that it is not only a modern but also a necessary approach.

Research and Teaching Fellows