News

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

Since mid-October 2020, Laura Einhorn has been a researcher at the Institut für Sozialarbeit und Sozialpädagogik (ISS) in Frankfurt.  

Since November 2020, Alina Marktanner has been a researcher in the chair of Modern History and its Cultures of Knowledge and Technology at the RWTH Aachen.  

In November 2020,Guadalupe Moreno received her doctorate for “Working Fictions of Money: The Making of Currency (Dis)trust in Argentina (1880–2020).”  

Karlijn Roex was awarded the 2020 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.  

In October 2020, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Vanessa Endrejat as their new spokesperson.  

This year the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) welcomed ten new researchers to the doctoral program.  

The International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) is hosting a virtual doctoral conference from March 24 to 26, 2021.  

Since May 2020, Sarah Berens, who was a doctoral student at the IMPRS-SPCE from 2010 to 2013, has been Assistant Professor (tenure track) for Political Economy at the University of Innsbruck.  

Kristina Gushchina was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cologne in July 2020. In her dissertation project Gushchina researched the political representation of women in the post-Soviet space and factors influencing their (re-)election.  

In July 2020, Laura Einhorn received her doctorate, with distinction, for “Changing Diets and Food Moralities: The Social Stratification of Meat Consumption in Germany.”  

Marina Hübner, who was a doctoral and then postoctoral researcher at the MPIfG from 2014 to 2019, has been working as an advisor in the field of financial market policy at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin since October 2019.  

Alexandra Hees received her doctorate from the University of Cologne in April 2020. In her dissertation, “Eine ‘grüne’ Zukunft für Kunststoffe? Die Entwicklung von Märkten für Biokunststoffe,” she explores the tension between perceptions of the future and market creation processes, reconstructing the development of markets for bioplastics from the 1970s to the present day from an economic sociology and cultural sociology perspective.  

Alina Marktanner was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cologne in April 2020. Her dissertation, “Vom Verbände- zum Beraterstaat? Unternehmensberater in der öffentlichen Verwaltung der Bundesrepublik, 1945 bis 2003,” explores how business consultants came to be political actors and how their consulting activities led to new political semantics and practices.  

International cooperation is exceptionally important for comparative social science research. The International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) has been working with notable partner institutions abroad for several years now.  

In November 2019, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Monica Bolelli as their new spokesperson. She shares the role with Ebru Ece Özbey. Monica Bolelli has been a doctoral student at the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) since 2018. more

The MPIfG welcomes a new cohort of young researchers into the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) in 2019. more

Düzgün Arslantas was awarded his doctorate at the University of Cologne in September 2019. In his dissertation on clientelism and the early dominant-party system, Arslantas argues that the dominant position of a single party occurs if a party wins a minimum of three consecutive elections with a ten percent margin and forms a majority government. more

Donato Di Carlo was awarded his doctorate at the University of Cologne in June 2019. In his dissertation, "Together We Rule, Divided We Stand: Public Employers as Semisovereign State Actors and the Political Economy of Public Sector Wage Restraint in Germany," he explores the conditions and processes of divergent public sector wage setting in Germany in the course of monetary integration in Europe. more

In May 2019, fifteen early career researchers met for a three-day doctoral seminar at MaxPo, the joint Sciences Po and MPIfG research center in Paris. The seminar, which was organized by Lucio Baccaro and Olivier Godechot, focused on current developments in economic sociology and political economy and on the question of intensifying exchange between the two disciplines. more

In February 2019, the IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers elected Ebru Ece Özbey as their new spokesperson. more

In November 2018, the Max Planck Society (MPG) reached a positive decision over the future funding of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE). more

Elifcan Çelebi received a Sirin Tekeli Research Encouragement Award for her dissertation project on the influence of gender on the employment market in Turkey. The 1,000 euro prize was awarded in December 2018 by the Gender and Women's Studies Center of Excellence (SU Gender) at Sabanci University in Istanbul. more

In October 2018, the doctoral researchers from the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) elected Laura Gerken as their new spokesperson. more

The MPIfG is delighted to welcome new researchers to the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE). more

Karlijn Roex was awarded her doctorate at the University of Cologne in October 2018. In her dissertation, "Anomie, Shame, and the American Dream: The Impact of the Economy on Suicide," she explores what effects economic change and marketization have on suicide rates in industrialized countries. more

In July 2018, doctoral researchers from the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) elected Guadalupe Moreno as their new spokesperson. more

In June 2018, Marina Hübner was awarded her doctorate at the University of Cologne. Her dissertation on the political economy of European capital markets union argues that the unexpected political comeback of securitization and shadow banks needs to be analyzed in the broader context of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) macroeconomic governance reform. more

In June 2018, Sebastian Kohl received second prize in the Bengt Turner Award for his paper "More Mortgages, Less Housing? On the Paradoxical Effects of Housing Financialization on Housing Supply and Residential Capital Formation," presented at the European Network of Housing Research Conference. more

Daniel Meyer has been a doctoral candidate representative at the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences since May 2018. more

At the beginning of July 2018, around twenty young researchers and social scientists attended the Max Planck Summer Conference on Economy and Society. more

MPIfG alumnus Lukas Haffert is to become a member of the Junge Akademie. The Junge Akademie at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is an interdisciplinary research platform for young scientists. more

For her dissertation "Social Movements and Institutional Change: The Pro-Indigenous Struggle for Land Tenure and Citizenship in Brazil (1968-2016)," Ana Carolina Alfinito Vieira is to be awarded the Max Planck Society’s Otto Hahn Medal. more

Susanne Berger is the new Research Coordinator and Academic Coordinator of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) at the MPIfG. more

The MPIfG once again welcomes new young researchers into the doctoral program of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE). more

The International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a conference on July 28–29, 2017, with around 50 participants in attendance at the MPIfG in Cologne. more

On Thursday, July 27, 2017, the MPIfG held a ceremony for this year's doctoral graduates from the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE). more

Kimey Pflücke was awarded her doctorate at the University of Cologne in July 2017. more

In July 2017, the doctoral researchers of the IMPRS-SPCE elected Laura Einhorn as their new doctoral spokesperson. more

The International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) and the University of California, San Diego finalized an agreement on an exchange program for doctoral researchers in May 2017. more

The Max Planck Society (MPG) has awarded Lisa Kastner the Otto Hahn Medal this year. more

Starting in April 2017, Mark Lutter will become Full Professor of Sociology at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal. more

The MPIfG and the Institute for Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences have founded a joint international research group in Warsaw. more

For his "Critique of the economic concept of resilience," Andreas Eisl has been awarded the Leopold Scheidl Prize 2015 for economic geography by the Austrian Geographical Society. more