Profile and Study Contents

Students receive an overview of the existing social science research approaches in the fields of political science and sociology with a focus on interdisciplinary climate and sustainability research. This is often oriented towards the Sustainable Development Goals formulated by the United Nations, such as the fight against poverty, gender equality, quality education, health and well-being.

Students develop competences in Education for Sustainable Development, the ability to structure and relate fundamental questions and research fields to each other, and to reflect on the importance of subject-related and interdisciplinary work.

The thematic focus is on the approaches of a still young "sociology of sustainability", which are elaborated, reconstructed and critically discussed. For this, a reference to the existing range of topics and theories of sociological research is indispensable. The focus is on questions of basic sociological and theoretical work in order to discuss which theoretical resources a sociology of sustainability should be equipped with. This also includes questions about the possibilities of connecting to individual subdisciplinary sociological research areas such as a sociology of the political, a sociology of knowledge and a sociology of world society.

Quantitative methods that are central to empirical sustainability research are dealt with in the context of quantitative empirical social research methods. Starting with considerations on the measurability of relevant constructs such as specific attitudes and convictions to behaviour and political measures, their (international) comparability is critically reflected and discussed. Methods of international comparative research such as multi-level analysis, longitudinal methods at country level as well as experiments and evaluation studies play a major role.

The teaching area of comparative politics and systems theory is dedicated to the analysis and evaluation of different concepts of environmental policy, including the effect of divergent instruments and forms of governance, as well as their basic institutional structures. Building on the basic elements of policy research, a comparative study of the environmental policies of selected states (democracies and autocracies) is carried out. The results of environmental policy are also covered. This requires the inclusion of various measurement concepts, the validity of which is critically reflected. Different case designs and comparative evaluation methods can be used in the comparative analysis.

Sustainability policy includes various fields in the International Relations such as: sustainable development, global social justice, global democracy and the participation of global civil society in global governance, sustainable environmental policy, sustainable conflict management, to name but a few. The Chair of International Relations and European Studies sheds light on these topics when studying policy-making at global level, the conflicts of interests and the outcomes on questions of global sustainability. The team especially focuses on sustainability approaches as suggested by the EU, a forerunner in global sustainability politics. Global North-South and South-South relations are in focus of research and teaching. The team regularly offers seminars and panels for discussing sustainability matters at the global level in the master program.

Sustainable policies are linked to democratic decision-making procedures and the corresponding involvement of publics: But how are publics produced in practice? To answer this question, different theories and empirical studies from sociology on the topic of the public sphere will be brought up for discussion. At the same time, the influence of media on public mediation processes will be appreciated. Finally, the question arises of how publics can be connected within a sustainable decision-making practice.

Within the framework of Qualitative Methods of Empirical Social Research, in-depth knowledge of qualitative research methods relevant for empirical-inductive research on sustainability issues will be taught, such as: How does one sociologically research the consequences of unsustainable policies (such as the consequences of global social inequality, environmental risks, migration experiences respectively the practices of global critical publics)?

Aspects of sustainability have been addressed in political theory for a long time, albeit mostly under different headings. One focus is on considerations of justice in national and international contexts, both of which deal with questions of distributive justice. In addition, normative theories of justice raised questions of intergenerational justice early on, and proposed solutions in the form of "just savings principles" that present generations should follow to support future ones.

Basically, the non-European context also raises the question of alternatives to the Western economic system and the associated lifestyles or "conceptions of the good life". In addition, the question is discussed whether developing countries ("countries of the global South") have a right to catch-up modernisation with the known negative consequences for global sustainability and whether the countries of the West are obliged to pay compensation for the damage they have caused, in the form of colonialism and environmental pollution.