Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences

At the Institute for Political Science - in continuation of the tradition of its founding fathers Carl Joachim Friedrich and Dolf Sternberger - the focus is on comparative analysis of political systems, comparative research on state activity, comparative democracy research and the study of inter- and intranational conflicts including international terrorism. In regional terms, the research extends to the democracies of the West, the Central and Eastern European countries and Southeast Asia.

At the Max Weber Institute for Sociology, a comparative institutional analysis inspired by cultural studies is cultivated, which is primarily based on Max Weber. The focus is on establishing, legitimizing and disintegrating institutions with regard to sectoral, national and transnational constellations (in particular Europeanization). Particular attention is paid to the welfare state from a comparative perspective. Another focus is the theoretical discussion. Connected to the institute is a research center where, under the patronage of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, parts of the Max Weber complete edition are edited.

At the Alfred Weber Institute for Economics, the core areas of economics are researched and taught, in particular economic theory, economic policy (including empirical economic research) and finance. Large parts of the research focus on the problem areas of state and market, labor and human capital, money and financing, as well as on development and environmental economics. Development economics benefit from the close integration with the South Asia Institute, and a research center has been set up specifically for environmental economics. The Heidelberg economists combine economic-theoretical analyzes on the micro and macro level with empirical economic research and use this connection to develop well-founded recommendations for economic policy.