Institute for Political Science About us
The Institute for Political Science (IPW) at Heidelberg University is one of the oldest political science institutes in Germany. Since Dolf Sternberger was awarded his first teaching position in ‘Political Science’ in 1947 and the institute was founded in 1958, the IPW has consistently earned a high academic reputation.
This applies, for example, to comparative studies of political systems, the field of domestic politics/the political system in Germany, and international comparative research on government activity. Since the turn of the millennium, and supported by the ‘Federal and State Initiative of Excellence for the Promotion of Science and Research at German Universities’ and several university expansion measures by the state of Baden-Württemberg, areas such as international relations, and in particular comparative foreign policy and conflict research, modern political theory, analytical and international comparative political economy, and policy field research have been significantly strengthened.
