The Chair of Comparative Politics conducts comparative political science research and offers various classes on relevant topics.

The research projects based at the Chair examine issues of representation, parliamentarism, government and gender studies in political science from a comparative perspective. Three topics are explored in particular: how parliaments work, women as political players, and the performance of prime ministers. For example, we address the following questions: how well are women and ethnic minorities represented in the parliaments of Western democracies? To what extent are these groups also represented among the staff working for members of parliament? Are female ministers subject to the same parliamentary scrutiny as male ministers? How do male parliamentarians change their focus when more women are represented? Do women in the EU Commission set different priorities than their male colleagues? Do MPs become more or less responsive to the interests of their constituents over the course of a legislative period? And which factors explain the performance of female prime ministers, especially in the post-communist democracies of Central and Eastern Europe?

The teaching offers include basic and advanced classes for bachelor's students as well as postgraduate classes for master's students. The range of clases includes, in particular, the lecture ‘Fundamentals of Comparative Politics,’ in which students learn about the most important concepts, theories and methods of the sub-discipline. In keeping with our research-oriented learning, the topics of the comparative politics seminars in the bachelor's and master's courses are closely linked to the research focus of the Department. For example, we provide classes on gender inequality in politics, multiculturalism and representation. All courses are characterised by an intensive examination of theoretical and empirical contributions from the relevant specialist literature.