Comparative Political Science

Profile

What factors threaten the stability of democratic institutions and processes? Why are populist parties gaining ground in many countries? Under what conditions do protest movements lead to political change? Comparative politics addresses these and similar questions by analyzing political institutions, attitudes, and behavior. Its central focus lies on domestic political dynamics, explored through systematic comparison across cases. Methodologically, comparative politics employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches to identify and explain similarities and differences between political phenomena. Key research areas include state formation, regime change, the functioning of governments, electoral and party systems, political stability, and the determinants of political preferences, voting behavior, and political extremism.

The research group focuses on analyzing political attitudes and behavior in the contexts of civil war, terrorism, and authoritarian regimes. Key questions include: How do personal experiences of violence shape party preferences? What factors drive individuals' loyalty to autocratic states? And how do collective memories of war and persecution influence political values and voting behavior?

The research group offers foundational undergraduate courses as well as advanced seminars aligned with the professorship’s core research areas—particularly the analysis of political attitudes and behavior in contexts of violence and authoritarian rule. In the Bachelor's programs of the Institute of Social Sciences, the group provides introductory courses on the theories and methods of comparative politics and the comparison of political systems. These are complemented by more specialized seminars on topics such as right-wing extremism, political culture, and political mobilization. At the Master’s level, teaching focuses on the causes of war, the dynamics of peace processes, the determinants of political extremism, and the design of empirical research projects.

Professorship

Prof. Dr. Alexander De Juan

Foto Prof. Dr.  Alexander De Juan
Fachbereich 1: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Seminarstraße 20
49069 Osnabrück

Room: 15/423b
Office hours: Mittwoch, 10-12 Uhr (Anmeldung über StudIP erforderlich)

 +49 541 969-4366
 alexander.dejuan@uni-osnabrueck.de

Research assistants

Finn Lukas Klebe, M.A.

Fachbereich 1: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Seminarstraße 20
49074 Osnabrück

Room: 15/423a
Office hours: Mondays, 14:00-15:00

 +49 541 969-4781
 finn.klebe@uni-osnabrueck.de

M.A. Julian Voß

Foto M.A. Julian Voß
Fachbereich 1: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Seminarstraße 33
49074 Osnabrück

Room: 04/219
Office hours: Dienstag 10-11 Uhr (Anmeldung über StudIP erforderlich)

 +49 541 969-4260
 julian.voss@uni-osnabrueck.de

DFG-Project "Devolving the Monopoly on Violence"

Dr. Kristof Gosztonyi

Foto Dr. Kristof Gosztonyi
Fachbereich 1: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Seminarstraße 20
49074 Osnabrück


Office hours: nach Vereinbarung

 kristof.gosztonyi@uni-osnabrueck.de

Dr. Jan Koehler

Foto Dr. Jan Koehler
Fachbereich 1: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Seminarstraße 20
49074 Osnabrück


Office hours: nach Vereinbarung

 jan.koehler@uni-osnabrueck.de

Secretariat

Saskia Schulte

Foto Saskia Schulte
Fachbereich 1: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Seminarstraße 20
49074 Osnabrück

Room: 15/423c
Office hours: Mo-Do 09:30-11:30 Uhr, Fr 09:00-11:00 Uhr - Homeoffice

 +49 541 969-4071
 saskia.schulte@uni-osnabrueck.de

Student employees

Lara Kleemann
Tanja Korte
Niclas Lüssenheide
Sofie Wille

Former employees

Mohamed Moheeb, M. A.
Dr. Roman Krtsch