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

    Associations' agreement and the interest of the network suppliers: the strategic use of structural features

    Wein, T., 2005, Lüneburg: Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg, 26 p. (Working paper series in economics; no. 7).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  2. Published

    Assuring a safe, secure and sustainable: Space environment for space activities: Considerations on a consensual orbital debris remediation scheme

    Smith, L. J., 12.05.2016, Space for the 21st Century: : Discovery, Innovation, Sustainability. Williamson, R. (ed.). 1. ed. CreateSpace Independent Publishing, p. 137-156 20 p.

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

  3. Published
  4. Published

    A survey of empirical studies using transaction level data on exports and imports

    Wagner, J., 01.02.2016, In: Review of World Economics. 152, 1, p. 215-225 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Asyl für russische Kriegsdienstverweigerer: Lebensgefährlicher Kriegseinsatz und die erzwungene Beteiligung an Kriegsverbrechen führen zu subsidiärem Schutz

    Feneberg, V., 2025, Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH.

    Research output: other publicationsArticles in scientific forums or blogsResearch

  6. Published

    A Tale of Culture - Bound Regime Evolution: The Centennial Democratic Trend and Its Recent Reversal

    Brunkert, L., Kruse, S. & Welzel, C. P., 03.04.2019, In: Democratization. 26, 3, p. 422-443 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    A Tale of Culture-Bound Regime Evolution: The Centennial Democratic Trend and Its Recent Reversal.

    Welzel, C. P., 10.2017, 7 ed., Gothenburg (Sweden): Göteborgs universitet, p. 1-30, 30 p. (V-Dem Working Papers Series; vol. 2017, no. 11).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  8. Published

    Atkinson, Anthony B. Inequality. What Can Be Done? Cambridge/Massachusetts. Harvard University Press 2015

    Leipold, A., 20.12.2017, In: Politische Vierteljahresschrift. 58, 4, p. 639 - 641 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsCritical reviewsResearch

  9. Published

    At what price? IP-related thoughts on new business models for space information

    Smith, L. J., 2010, 61st International Astronautical Congress 2010, IAC 2010: Prague, Czech Republic, 27 September-1 October 2010.. Paris: International Astronautical Association (IFA), p. 3975-3985 11 p. (61st International Astronautical Congress 2010, IAC 2010; vol. 5).

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

  10. Published

    Auctionning biodiversity conservation contracts: current need for research

    Groth, M., 2008, Mainstreaming biodiversity issues into forestry and agriculture: Abstracts of Poster Presentations at the 13th Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity 18-22 February 2008, Rome, Italy. Montreal: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, p. 42-44 3 p. (CBD Technical Series; vol. 34).

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