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

    Prozesse der Energiewende wissenschaftlich gestalten: Wichtige Impulse aus den NaWis-Institutionen

    Heinrichs, H., Mans, U., Alvarez, A., Schomerus, T. & Goldammer, K., 12.2012, In: GAIA. 21, 4, p. 316-318 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Prüfbarkeit des Angebotes bei einem gegenständlichen Nachtrag und einem Nachtrag infolge Störungen des Bauablaufes

    Schottke, R., 2003, Schuldrechtsmodernisierung, Baustellen- und Nachtragscontrolling, Einstellung der Arbeiten: 4. Interdisziplinäre Norddeutsche Tagung für Baubetriebswirtschaft und Baurecht am 31. Mai/01. Juni 2002 in Nienburg/Weser.. Neustadt: SEMINA Verlag, p. 112-139 28 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearch

  3. Published

    Public Affairs

    Grotz, F., 2011, Kleines Lexikon der Politik. Nohlen, D. & Grotz, F. (eds.). 5 ed. München: C.H. Beck Verlag, p. 500-501 2 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticles for encyclopediaTransfer

  4. Published

    Publications on International Economic Law 2013–2014

    Herrmann, C., Krajewski, M. & Terhechte, J. P., 01.01.2015, European Yearbook of International Economic Law. Herrmann, C., Krajewski, M. & Terhechte, J. P. (eds.). Heidelberg, Berlin: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, p. 429-448 20 p. (European Yearbook of International Economic Law; vol. 6).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  5. Published

    Public Finance and Post-Communist Party Development

    Pettai, V., 2010, In: Journal of Baltic Studies. 41, 2, p. 271-274 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsCritical reviewsResearch

  6. Published

    Public Interest Litigation avant la lettre? Questions of Standing in the Wimbledon Case

    Tams, C. J., 20.02.2025, The Legacy of the Wimbledon Case : Centenary of the First Judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice . Kwiecien, R. & Fitzmaurice, M. (eds.). Brill | Nijhoff, p. 47-69 23 p. (Queen Mary Studies in International Law; vol. 57).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  7. Published

    Public participation and local environmental planning: Testing factors influencing decision quality and implementation in four case studies from Germany

    Drazkiewicz, A., Challies, E. & Newig, J., 01.07.2015, In: Land Use Policy. 46, p. 211-222 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Public reactions to the promotion of nanotechnologies in society

    Könninger, S., Ott, I., Zülsdorf, T. & Papilloud, C., 01.2010, In: International Journal of Nanotechnology. 7, 2-3, p. 265-279 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published
  10. Published

    Pumpspeicher an Bundeswasserstraßen: Technische, wirtschaftliche und rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen am Beispiel des Elbe-Seitenkanals

    Degenhart, H. (Editor), Schomerus, C.-T. (Editor) & Schulz, D. (Editor), 17.12.2015, Springer Vieweg. 107 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesResearch