School of Public Affairs

Organisational unit: Research School

Organisation profile

Leuphana School of Public Affairs is the academic and professional home to 1.000 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students and 31 professors. 30 research associates and 17 professional staff members are working for us.

The main themes of the school are reflected in its study programs: The School of Public Affairs is currently responsible for three Majors and four Minors at Leuphana College, five Master’s programmes and five Doctoral research groups at Leuphana Graduate School as well as five continuing education Master's programmes at Leuphana Professional School. As a novelty in Germany, the Master of Law offers students the opportunity to obtain both a Master's degree in law (LL.M.) as well as the state law examination. With its emphasis on "Law in Context", this model degree programme transcends a classic-dogmatic perspective of jurisprudence by presenting the relevant contents from civil law, public law and criminal law against the backdrop of current societal challenges and transformations. 

Main research areas

Leuphana School of Public Affairs brings together the disciplines of Political Science, Law, and Economics under one roof. With 31 professorships, it establishes an innovative profile in Germany on issues of public affairs, gaining both national and international visibility and academic reputation.

The School conducts research on the major transformations of our time and thus continues to develop its existing research agenda on the future of democracy, evidence-based political decision-making and law in the context of societal transformation. In an interdisciplinary collaborative endeavour, the three subjects will, among other things, answer pressing questions about

  • the legitimacy and performance of democracies, whose integrative power is under threat, especially in light of recent upheavals in politics and society,
  • the role of the state with regard to the relationship between private-law and public-law regulation,
  • the justification of governmental intervention into market processes and their ex-post evaluation.
  1. Published

    Presidente del Consiglio, partiti politici e maggioranza parlamentare (1996-2016)

    Musella, F. & Vercesi, M., 12.2019, Il presidente del Consiglio dei ministri dallo Stato liberale all’Unione Europea. Tedoldi, L. (ed.). Milano: Biblion edizioni, p. 385-410 26 p. (Storia, politica, società; vol. 54).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Price Gouging at the Pump? The Lerner Index and the German Fuel Market

    Neukirch, A. & Wein, T., 18.09.2019, In: Review of Economics. 70, 2, p. 157 -192 36 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Prime Ministerial Careers in the European Union: Does gender make a difference?

    Müller-Rommel, F. & Vercesi, M., 03.04.2017, In: European Politics and Society. 18, 2, p. 245-262 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published
  5. Published

    Prime Ministers in Europe: Changing Career Experiences and Profiles

    Müller-Rommel, F., Vercesi, M. & Berz, J., 01.07.2022, 1 ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 231 p. (Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesBook

  6. Published

    Private ex-ante transaction costs for repeated biodiversity conservation auctions: a case study

    Groth, M., 2008, Lüneburg: Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg, 26 p. (Working paper series in economics; no. 84).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  7. Published
  8. Published

    Private Transaktionskosten im Rahmen einer wiederholten Ausschreibung ökologischer Leistungen der Landwirtschaft

    Groth, M., 01.12.2007, In: Sonderhefte der Berichte über Landwirtschaft. 85, 3, p. 390-405 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Privatrecht als Steuerungsinstrument für eine nachhaltige Wirtschaftsordnung?

    Halfmeier, A., 15.03.2024, Nachhaltigkeit im Spiegel des Rechts. Kramme, M. & Ponholzer, E. (eds.). Wien: Verlag Österreich GmbH, p. 189-201 13 p. (Schriftenreihe Recht und Nachhaltigkeit; vol. 2).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Problem Definition and Agenda-Setting in Critical Perspective

    Barbehön, M., Münch, S. & Lamping, W., 12.2015, Handbook of Critical Policy Studies. Fischer, F., Torgerson, D., Orsini, M. & Durnova, A. (eds.). Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 241-258 18 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review