The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science
@mpips.bsky.social
The Max Planck Institute for Political & Social Science examines urgent questions of conflict, inequality, democratic erosion & societal transformation – combining political science & sociology in an interdisciplinary framework. ips.mpg.de
Rechtsextreme oder rechtspopulistische #Parteien im Aufwind: Was lässt sich dagegen tun? Hedwig Richter von der Universität der Bundeswehr München und Steffen Mau vom Max-Planck-Institut für Politik- und Sozialwissenschaft in Göttingen blicken auf #Deutschland und fragen sich: Wo stehen wir?
Demokratie-Check: Wo stehen wir?
YouTube video by MaxPlanckSociety
youtube.com
Many assume that migrants are drawn to Germany by its welfare benefits. A new open access study by our postdoc @margheritacusmano.bsky.social complicates that. Many valued the safety net most for simply being there, even those who'll likely never need it. Not just the good life, but the good society
Germany as a ‘social state’: post-migration geographical imaginaries as visions of the good society
Migration research increasingly examines geographical imaginaries but typically treats them as pre-migration constructs that collide with post-migration realities and subsequently dissolve. This ar...
tandfonline.com
"Dann wird Wohlstand vielleicht wichtiger als Freiheit" In this interview @patrick-bernau.de @faznet.bsky.social, sociologist @steffenmau.bsky.social discusses how economic expectations, perceptions of fairness, & confidence in the future shape political attitudes & democratic resilience
Soziologe Steffen Mau: „Dann wird Wohlstand vielleicht wichtiger als Freiheit“
Der Soziologe Steffen Mau analysiert, was der Aufstieg der AfD mit dem Geld zu tun hat – und wie Reformen aussehen können, die im Land Zustimmung finden.
faz.net
A great success: our first Gegenwartslese! A new format at the MPIPS bringing together social science, literature & the public. @steffenmau.bsky.social opened, followed by @mafaalani.bsky.social & Julia Friedrichs. Thanks to all our guests, next on 24.06.26. Supported by @kohli-sociology.bsky.social
A pleasure to welcome the Max Planck Funding Foundation to Göttingen’s MPIs. Thank you for your generous support of basic research and for taking the time to engage with our scientists and their work! 🤝🔬 @mpips.bsky.social, @mpsgoettingen.bsky.social, MPI for Dynamics and Self-Organization
Our postdoc @margheritacusmano.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the Deutscher Studienpreis 2026 (Körber-Stiftung) - 30 nominees from 859 submissions. Her dissertation, "The German Dream: Economic Inequality through the Eyes of Migrants," asks how migrants perceive inequality & fairness.
30 Promovierte für den Deutschen Studienpreis 2026 nominiert
Jury wählt Shortlist aus 859 Einreichungen aus
koerber-stiftung.de
Very happy to see our book "Trigger Points" finally out in English, and fully open access! Hopefully a useful resource for anyone working on polarization, class, inequality, migration, diversity, and climate change.
The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science@mpips.bsky.social · 2mo agoWhy do our societies seem so deeply divided when most citizens actually occupy a broad political middle ground? @steffenmau.bsky.social, @thomaslux.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social unpack this paradox in Trigger Points, pub. today @brisunipress.bsky.social, Foreward @mikesavagelse.bsky.social
„Trigger Points“ - open access!
The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science@mpips.bsky.social · 2mo agoWhy do our societies seem so deeply divided when most citizens actually occupy a broad political middle ground? @steffenmau.bsky.social, @thomaslux.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social unpack this paradox in Trigger Points, pub. today @brisunipress.bsky.social, Foreward @mikesavagelse.bsky.social
Why do our societies seem so deeply divided when most citizens actually occupy a broad political middle ground? @steffenmau.bsky.social, @thomaslux.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social unpack this paradox in Trigger Points, pub. today @brisunipress.bsky.social, Foreward @mikesavagelse.bsky.social
Trigger Points
Trigger Points - Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society; Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Is society really polarized? This book explores key conflicts...
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk
Is Germany's middle class eroding? In this piece, 3 experts give a differentiated answer, among them our director @steffenmau.bsky.social. He warns that faith in progress has faded: under 10% think the next generation will fare better. He points to 'clear fault lines' that could deepen polarization
Erosion der Mitte: Experten über Wege aus der Verunsicherung
Viele Deutsche fürchten sozialen Abstieg und Spaltung. Forscher erklären die Ursachen – und zeigen, wie Politik und Bürger gegensteuern können.
focus.de
2026 DIE ZEIT No. 24 - Feuilleton “How can the AfD be stopped?” DIE ZEIT invited leading voices from art, literature, and science to reflect on one of the defining political questions of our time. Our Director, @steffenmau.bsky.social Mau, is among the contributors featured.
AfD: Wie lässt sich die AfD stoppen?
Wir haben diese Frage klugen Menschen aus Kunst, Literatur und Wissenschaft gestellt. Dies sind ihre Antworten – in 15 Texten und zwei Bildern
zeit.de
We launched our Open Lectures Series 2026 with a fascinating talk by John Levi Martin (U Chicago, editor of AJS), on the Weimar Reichstag – revealing a 2D political field that left–right alone can't capture. Based on work with Benjamin Rohr (Uni Mannheim) #OpenLectures2026 #Sociology #WeimarRepublic
Our Open Lectures Series 2026 opens tomorrow with John Levi Martin (University of Chicago): "Taking a Position in the Political Field: Voting, Speeches and Interactions in the Weimar Reichstag, 1920–1932". Hosted by our ICT Dept @steffenmau.bsky.social & Institute of Sociology @uni-goettingen.de
Taking a Position in the Political Field: Voting, Speeches and Interactions in the German Weimar Reichstag, 1920-1932 (Benjamin Rohr, co-author)
Political analysts have long used spatial representa tions as a substrate for behavioral models, especially for legislators’ voting choices. Most commonly, we think in terms of a single-dimension cont...
ips.mpg.de
We are happy to share this milestone for evidence-based migration research. Congratulations to the IPM team - and especially to our Managing Director Steven Vertovec, President of the IPM, on the official launch at the Second International Migration Review Forum at the @unitednations1945.bsky.social
@migrationpanel.bsky.social · 3mo agoThank you to everyone who attended last week's launch of the International Panel on Migration. We look forward to expanding our work and connecting with scientists, academics, and the public going forward. Learn more about the IPM at migrationpanel.org. #migrationscience #ipmlaunch #imrf2026
Reviewed @faznet.bsky.social: a new article by @thomaslux.bsky.social, @steffenmau.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social. Building on their book Triggerpunkte which examined what makes society flare up, this article asks: is Germany really politically divided along different ways of life?
Neue Studie hinterfragt die Zweiteilung der Gesellschaft
Deutschland zerfällt nicht in zwei Lager, sondern in neun. Eine neue Studie zeigt komplexe Konfliktlinien und hinterfragt die Spaltungsthese.
faz.net
Artikel mit @julianheide.bsky.social und @thomaslux.bsky.social (1) Ostdeutsche gelten als besonders unzufrieden mit der Demokratie, migrationsfeindlich, rechtspopulistisch. Oft werden diese Orientierungen durch Sozialisationseffekte des DDR-Systems erklärt www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/...
Der lange Schatten der DDR? Zum Zusammenhang von ehemaliger Systemnähe und aktuellen politischen Orientierungen von Ostdeutschen
Zusammenfassung Ostdeutsche gelten als besonders unzufrieden mit der Demokratie, migrationsfeindlich und dem Rechtspopulismus zugeneigt. Oft werden diese Orientierungen durch Sozialisationseffekte des...
degruyterbrill.com
We’re hiring. @Dr. Hania Sobhy’s group “Teachers, Inequality and Collective Action” (TICA) is recruiting a Researcher, Postdoc & Doctoral Researcher. Focus: teachers, inequality & collective action, anchored in MENA. Part of EduTrack. Deadlines 31 May / 6 June. @populationeu.bsky.social
What happens to a democracy when people stop caring? Michel Friedman speaks with @steffenmau.bsky.social & @prienkarin.bsky.social about indifference, inequality & why crises often feel distant - until they don’t. A talk on today’s most pressing political questions. May 18 @blnensemble.bsky.social
Friedman im Gespräch: Gleichgültigkeit | berliner-ensemble
berliner-ensemble.de
Does noticing migration in your neighborhood mean you view it negatively? Not necessarily - a new paper by our postdoc @margheritacusmano.bsky.social with Sören Petermann, Karen Schönwälder, & Eloisa Harris, from our predecessor institute, the MPI-MMG, finds the link to be weaker than often assumed
Margherita Cusmano@margheritacusmano.bsky.social · 3mo ago📚 New publication! Sören Petermann, Karen Schönwälder, Eloisa Harris and I explored how people characterize those around them, and what this reveals about attitudes toward migration and diversity. Read the full paper here: inlibra.com/de/document/...
New in Social Justice Research from our postdoc @margheritacusmano.bsky.social: Research on distributive justice has long focused on class, gender, & education - but largely overlooked migration. This new paper brings migration trajectories into the picture & asks how they shape justice attitudes.
Margherita Cusmano@margheritacusmano.bsky.social · 4mo ago🚨 New Open Access publication In my new paper in Social Justice Research, I explore how migration experiences—and crucially, when migration happens—shape attitudes toward distributive justice. 📖 Read the full (open access) paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
At @taz.de lab 2026, our director @steffenmau.bsky.social Mau joined sociologist @nilskumkar.bsky.social for a discussion moderated by @janfeddersen.bsky.social on polarization & public discourse. Conflict is amplified by media logic, while broad areas of agreement go largely unnoticed.
Congratulations on your 70th anniversary! We’re delighted that our Director, @steffenmau.bsky.social, is among a stellar line-up of new editors.
Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik@blaetter.bsky.social · 3mo agoAnlässlich unseres 70-jährigen Bestehens erweitern wir unseren Herausgeber:innenkreis. 🤩 Wir freuen uns, heute die neuen Herausgeberinnen und Herausgeber vorstellen zu dürfen: (1/3)
Technological and demographic change create needs for #education systems to adapt. @maxplanck.de launches the project "EduTrack" for science-based policy. We are thrilled to be working with @mpidr.bsky.social, @mpiwg.bsky.social and @mpips.bsky.social. population-europe.eu/network/news...
Very timely & important publication: "Why do political debates escalate? Trigger Points and the Moral Dynamics of 'Hot Politics'" @bjsociology.bsky.social by @lwestheuser.bsky.social, @thomaslux.bsky.social & our Director @steffenmau.bsky.social. Open Access. Details below.
Linus Westheuser@lwestheuser.bsky.social · 4mo agoKnife crime! Pronouns! Meat bans! Some political issues lead to "hotter", more emotional and polarizing debates than others. We show how these "trigger points" reveal a contested structure of moral expectations and how they get weaponized by polarization entrepreneurs. OA @bjsociology.bsky.social 🧵
Wir machen am 26. Juni eine öffentliche Veranstaltung und bringen die Sozialwissenschaften ins Gespräch; im Garten unseres Max-Planck-Instituts für Politik- und Sozialwissenschaft in Göttingen @mpips.bsky.social
The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science@mpips.bsky.social · 4mo agoA new space for conversation: Gegenwartslese brings together social science, literature & the public. Join us on June 26 in Göttingen: with @steffenmau.bsky.social, @mafaalani.bsky.social & Julia Friedrichs. Register in advance, details below in the flyer. Supported by @kohli-sociology.bsky.social
A new space for conversation: Gegenwartslese brings together social science, literature & the public. Join us on June 26 in Göttingen: with @steffenmau.bsky.social, @mafaalani.bsky.social & Julia Friedrichs. Register in advance, details below in the flyer. Supported by @kohli-sociology.bsky.social
Great kick-off meeting for the Department of Inequality, Transformation & Conflict - an ambitious research agenda led by @steffenmau.bsky.social focused around 4 key themes: Social Change & Transformation, Inequality & Social Structure, Social & Political Conflict &Migration & Borders www.ips.mpg.de
Congratulations to our Director @steffenmau.bsky.social on receiving the In_equality Research Award 2026! The Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” at the @uni-konstanz.de has awarded him the prize in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements & their societal relevance.
Steffen Mau@steffenmau.bsky.social · 4mo agoIch freue mich sehr über diese Auszeichnung! @mpips.bsky.social
Congratulations to our Director @steffenmau.bsky.social on receiving the In_equality Research Award 2026! The Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” at the @uni-konstanz.de has awarded him the prize in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements & their societal relevance.
Steffen Mau@steffenmau.bsky.social · 4mo agoIch freue mich sehr über diese Auszeichnung! @mpips.bsky.social