News

In February of this year, the doctoral researchers of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) elected Angelo Giorgio Cuconato as their new spokesperson. He takes over from Konstantinos Papanikolaou and shares the role with Robin Hetzel. [more]

Stephan Gruber successfully defended his dissertation, “Discipline and Promise: The Rise of Neoliberalism in Peru (1945–2000),” at the University of Duisburg-Essen's Faculty of Social Sciences in February. His research shows that neoliberal hegemony in Peru was not primarily shaped by external influences but by internal developments, with a combination of technocratic depoliticization and populist promises proving crucial and changing economic thinking among the population. [more]

Carola Westermeier will join the MPIfG in April 2025 as the leader of a new Lise Meitner Research Group on Technology and Sovereignty, which will begin in October 2025. The new group will research at the intersections of economic sociology, international political economy, and critical security studies. Westermeier will also become a member of the IMPRS-SPCE faculty. [more]

The MPIfG is taking part in ARTEMIS, the Max Planck Society’s mentorship program to promote scientific exchange with African universities and research institutions. Camilla Locatelli and Dustin Voss are mentoring two doctoral researchers, Endalcachew Bayeh from the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, and Ngone Mirimi, a doctoral candidate in Development Economics at the Africa Research University of Zambia. [more]

Matthias Thiemann, professor for European public policy at Sciences Po in Paris, will be joining the MPIfG between April and June as this year’s Scholar in Residence. During his stay in Cologne, Thiemann will offer a three-part public lecture series, “Financial Stability, Shadow Banking, and the Conditions of Monetary Modernity: A Struggle in Three Acts.” [more]

February 2025 marks the start of the next installments of the MPIfG’s successful MAX CPE series of online workshops on comparative political economy. The series’ monthly 60-minute seminars are an international forum for current research on topics such as comparative capitalism, financialization, inequality, and social policy. [more]

The MPIfG welcomed Andrea Dauber as its new coordinator for the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) in December 2024. Dauber joins Susanne Berger and Ursula Trappe in advising and supporting the Institute management on research management issues and accompanying the implementation of strategic decisions. [more]

In December of last year, Camilla Locatelli successfully defended her dissertation at the University of Cologne. In “Ruling the Game or Gaming the Rules? The Politics of Technocratic Fiscal Surveillance in the EMU,” Locatelli examines changes in fiscal policy decision-making processes in the eurozone during a crisis-ridden decade.  [more]

In December 2024, Agnes Tarnowski successfully defended her dissertation, “Schule und Schulleitung in der Migrationsgesellschaft: Eine Mixed-Methods-Studie zum schulischen Umgang mit migrationsbedingter Diversität,” exploring the central role played by school leaders in integrating ethnic minorities at secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. [more]

Maximilian Kiecker successfully defended his dissertation “The EU Social Turn from a Nordic Perspective: Explaining Scandinavian Trade Union Positions on EU Social Policy” at the University of Cologne last December. In his work, he examines the different attitudes of Scandinavian countries towards European social policy. [more]

Philipp Golka was elected in December 2024 as the new spokesperson for the MPIfG researchers in the Human Sciences Section of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society (MPG). He replaces Isabell Stamm in the role and will serve for the next three years.  [more]

Hanna Doose, a doctoral researcher at the IMPRS-SPCE, defended her dissertation, “Rentiers and their Frontiers: The Power Struggles Surrounding Land as an Asset,” at the University of Cologne on November 14. Doose’s dissertation examines the financialization of land and its effects on the political and economic power structures of institutional owners, focusing on the dynamics created by embedding land in financial markets and their influence on corporate strategies and power alliances. [more]

Several new doctoral students are joining the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) in the winter semester. [more]

In August of this year, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Robin Hetzel to be their new spokesperson. He takes over in the role from Pauline Kohlhase and will serve alongside co-spokesperson Konstantinos Papanikolaou. [more]

Vanessa Endrejat was awarded her doctorate at the end of March by the University of Cologne. Her dissertation, “Out of Balance, Out of Sight? How the Epistemic Community of Government Finance Statisticians Shapes European Debt Calculations,” explores public debt calculations in Europe, the policy decisions that flow into them, and who makes the decisions. [more]

Elizabeth Soer was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cologne in June. In her dissertation project, “Imaginaries of Freedom: How Imagined Futures Shaped South Africa’s Transition from Apartheid, 1976–1996,” she examined the transition to democracy in South Africa. [more]

Mischa Stratenwerth successfully defended his doctoral thesis at the beginning of June. In “Interest Groups and Macroeconomic Policy in the Export-led German Growth Model: Business Associations, Trade Unions, and the Reproduction of the Undervaluation Regime,” Stratenwerth examines how national economic growth models are shaped by macroeconomic policies, institutions, and ideas. [more]

In October of this year the doctoral researchers of the IMPRS-SPCE elected Pauline Kohlhase as their new spokesperson.  

In August 2023, Sandhya A.S. received her doctorate from the University of Duisburg-Essen. In her dissertation, “Making Mobility a Market: An Economic Sociology of Migration Brokerage,” she explores recent developments in the transnational organization of labor migration by profit-oriented actors.  

The 18th Summer Conference on Economy and Society of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) took place in Evanston, Illinois, in July this year.  

In June, H. Lukas R. Arndt successfully defended his dissertation at the University of Cologne and Sciences Po, Paris.  

In April of this year, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Valentin Rottensteiner as their new spokesperson.  

A one-day workshop on Nordic industrial relations was hosted at the MPIfG in March. Organized by MPIfG research group leader Martin Höpner and IMPRS-SPCE doctoral student Maximilian Kiecker, the event was attended by researchers from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.  

In January 2023, Andreas Eisl successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at Sciences Po, Paris.  

In December 2022, Annika Holz was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cologne.  

Alina Marktanner’s book based on her doctoral thesis has recently been included in the MPIfG Books series.  

The Society of Friends and Former Associates of the MPIfG awarded its 2022 Journal Article Prize for the best article in a peer-reviewed journal to Arjan Reurink.   

Back in August of this year, the German Political Science Association’s (DVPW) research section on migration politics awarded its Dietrich-Thränhardt Dissertation Prize to Hannah Pool for "'Doing the Game‘: The Moral Economy of Coming to Europe."  

A cohort of five new doctoral students join the IMPRS-SPCE in the 2022/23 winter semester.  

Osama Iqbal, doctoral spokesperson of the IMPRS-SPCE, was elected in October to the PhDnet Steering Group and as its new spokesperson.   

At the end of October, Zarah Westrich was elected as the new doctoral spokesperson at the IMPRS-SPCE.   

Hannah Pool received the prestigious Maria Ioannis Baganha Best Dissertation Award. The award has been presented annually since 2010 to honor outstanding dissertations in the field of international migration research.  

In June 2022, Laura Gerken received her doctorate from the University of Duisburg-Essen. In her dissertation, “Piercing the Fog: Transcalar Social Mobilization around Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Mozambique,” she explores the rise and development of multilevel land governance in the Global South since the mid-2000s.  

In September 2022, Hannah Pool was honored with the Dissertation Award of the German Sociological Association (DGS) during its 41st Congress in Bielefeld.  

MPIfG postdoctoral researcher Hannah Pool has been awarded the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society for her doctoral dissertation “‘Doing the Game’: The Moral Economy of Coming to Europe.”  

MPIfG postdoctoral researcher Hannah Pool was presented the Albert Ballin Award for Globalization Research by Hapag-Lloyd AG for her dissertation “‘Doing the Game’: The Moral Economy of Coming to Europe.”  

The IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Osama Iqbal as their new spokesperson.  

In March 2022, Andrés López Rivera was awarded his doctorate by the University of Duisburg-Essen.  

Since November 2021, Isabell Stamm has been the group leader of the new MPIfG research group “Business, Ownership, and Family Wealth.” The group focuses on family capitalism in Germany with special emphasis on social inequality.  

Cornelia Woll has been appointed as the new President and Academic Director of the Hertie School in Berlin. She takes up office on March 15, 2022.  

In January 2022, Elifcan Çelebi was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cologne.  

Since January 2022, Danielle Pullan has been a member of the Max Planck PhDnet Steering Group 2022 as the representative of the Human Sciences section.  

Since October 2021, Guadalupe Moreno has been a postdoctoral researcher in the research cluster “ConTrust: Trust in Conflict – Political Life under Conditions of Uncertainty.“ more

Donato Di Carlo was awarded the 2021 Journal Article Prize by the Society of Friends and Former Associates of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies during this year’s MPIfG Annual Colloquium in November. more

In October 2021, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Ceren Çevik as their new spokesperson. more

At the start of the winter semester 2021/2022, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies welcomes nine new researchers to the doctoral program of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy. more

In September 2021, the faculty of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy welcomed two new members and bade a warm farewell to Mark Ebers. more

In July 2021, Hannah Pool was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cologne. In her dissertation, she analyzes the migration trajectories of people coming from Afghanistan to Western Europe via Iran, Turkey, Greece, and the Balkan route. more

In April 2021, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Danielle Pullan as their new spokesperson. more

Hannah Pool has been a Fellow of the Charlemagne Prize Academy since November 2020. more