Since 2016, those affiliated with Social Science Works have published a large number of articles and reports. Long and short articles, detached or polemical, very thorough or more associative, but always written in a way that can be understood by a wider audience. Some articles have appeared only in English, or only in German, some in both languages. The German articles can be found on the German pages of this website. The topics cover the themes central to Social Science Works’ activities: democracy, deliberation, populism, social cohesion, migration and integration, social criticism, science criticism and Usable Knowledge. To make the articles easier to find, they have been divided into categories. However, to make sure you don’t miss anything, below you will find all articles published since 2016 in chronological order.

Since the categories naturally overlap, some articles can be found in multiple places. The following categories have been created.

  • Democratic Theory: empirically based theoretical articles on democracy, deliberation, pluralism, radicalization, extremism.
  • Project and Research Reports: articles about the projects and research we have carried out. Each project always has a research component as well, and also aims to generate general insights into the theme in question. Articles on all other themes can therefore also be found here.
  • Articles on populism: the overlap with democratic theory, among others, is obvious. Nevertheless, a separate category has been created because the articles in question explicitly address the populist movements that can be observed over the past decade in almost the entire Western world.
  • Science Criticism: articles that critically examine existing practices in academia and science.
  • Social Criticism: explicitly socially critical articles, a category with considerable overlap with populism.
  • Refugees and integration: articles that are often unrelated to the projects we have implemented in this field.
  • Urban Sociology and Tourism: integration, social cohesion and development, as well as socially and ethically responsible tourism are close to our hearts.
  • Finally, in order not to miss a single article by your favorite author, the articles are also listed by author.

All English Blog articles in chronological order

Do People Know What They Want? Social Scientific Responses

Market and liberal democracy are both based on the assumption that individuals are the best possible referees of their personal interests. This makes sense because nobody knows us as long and as well as we...

Developing a social enterprise devoted to democracy, deliberation and respect in a progressively hostile and indifferent environment: Experiences and observations of a social science trying to work in the eastern part of Germany

As citizens increasingly lose trust in politics and society, it becomes more important than ever for state and civilian organizations to be reliable, predictable, transparent, and decent. When citizens become more and more difficult to...

Deliberation Against Populism: Reconnecting Radicalizing Citizens In East Germany & Elsewhere

In the deliberative project “Deliberation against Populism” we organized two events with citizens from Brandenburg, Germany, to discuss the problems that trouble them. The prime goal of the project was to find new ways to...

Deliberating Homosexuality: Empirical Observations and Analyses

Like many other western countries, Germany still has medical doctors, therapists and priests that believe that homosexuality is an illness that can be cured. For instance, the weekly Der Spiegel recently reported on Gero Winkelmann...

Deliberating Discrimination, Antisemitism, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia in Volatile Schools in Hamburg: Why was there a wall between East and West Germany and not one between the North and the South?

In 2019 Social Science Works enjoyed a close cooperation with a district-school in Hamburg. We formed two groups of about 12 pupils each that volunteered to participate in our deliberative project on discrimination, respect and...

Debating Values & Identity With Newcomers & European Natives

In 2015, roughly 1,1 million refugees came to Germany. About 428,500 of these people are Syrians. Refugees from Iraq (13%) and Afghanistan (10%) form the second and third largest group. For 2016, the prospects are...

Countering Radicalization: What the Research on Deliberation and Radicalization Teaches us

Could radicalization be prevented or reversed by bringing together those that have seemingly entered this path, with other not (yet) radicalized citizens, to discuss fundamental issues like: democracy, pluralism, freedom, autonomy, respect and gender? The...

Contemptuous Encounters: How Internalised Beliefs about Work and Self-Esteem Create a System of Mutual Resentment

Bringing people together can be a risky business. You invite people from different parts of the society. They might distrust you. They might also distrust the people they expect to meet. Part of that distrust...

Constructief praten met meer en minder gevestigde burgers over wereldbeschouwingen

Sinds 2016 organiseert Social Science Works (SSW) in Duitsland reeksen van deliberative workshops met vluchtelingen, met rechts-radicale populisten, en met vrijwilligers en beroepskrachten die werkzaam zijn in het vluchtelingen en het maatschappelijk werk. SSW is...

Charles Lindblom on the Market, Elites, Inequality and our Inability to Think Clear

Charles Lindblom (1917 – 2017), one of the most important political scientists of the twentieth century, published in 2000 The Market System : What it is, how it works, and what to make of it...

Charles Edward Lindblom, In Memoriam

On January 30, 2018, Charles Lindblom died at the age of 100. His ideas on, among others, policy making processes, democracy, the limits and possibilities of social and political science, impairment, and usable knowledge play...

Challenging extreme claims for truth: How to deliberate the open, pluralist society with monist thinkers

Imagine we are dealing with a person with a rather monistic mindset, thus believing, assuming or hoping that all questions can only have one right answer, that all these answers can be neatly, harmoniously ordered...