How The EU Referendum Campaign Poisoned The UK’s Political Discourse
The message on my phone said: “I’m so, so sorry”. That’s how I learnt that the UK had voted to leave the European Union. This is something I had feared from the momentRead More
How NYE Turned German Political Debate Upside Down
At Social Science Works we seek to engage with contemporary political debate and offer solutions to its most pressing problems by applying social scientific thought. In this blog, co-founder Sarah Coughlan and NiklasRead More
Some Countries Are More Corrupt Than Others And We Shouldn’t Be Afraid To Say So
At Social Science Works we are interested in giving second opinions on research, to help enable policy makers make informed choices about policy and empower decision makers to make the best possible useRead More
The French “Crisis of Authority” Is A Crisis Of The Authorities
In France, you lose count of how many times you’ve heard about the “crisis of authority”. It has become a central preoccupation, amongst and spread by, a wide range of influential people. FirstRead More
How To Debate Values In A Diverse Europe
We need to talk. We need to talk about fundamental concepts like democracy, ethical and political pluralism, tolerance, equality and freedom, concepts that many consider as constitutive for the European identity. We needRead More
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, theRead More
Ted Cruz, Global Warming, & The Need For Data Transparency In Politics
by Namwan Leavell Republican Senator and prospective presidential candidate Ted Cruz doesn’t believe in global warming. “Many of the alarmists on global warming, they’ve got a problem because the science doesn’t back themRead More
What To Do Against Clientelism, Nepotism & Corruption?
“Manus manum lavat” – One hand washes the other. One Facet Of The Vicious Exchange In The EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood. Corruption kills. Sometimes it kills human lives, but most of the time itRead More
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 wellRead More
Lessons From Political Science On Participation & Democratization
It is often assumed in social and political science that citizens should participate more in political structures and processes aimed to bring about or to influence public decision making. The current strong interestRead More