News and Press Releases

Stephan Gruber successfully defended his dissertation, “Discipline and Promise: The Rise of Neoliberalism in Peru (1945–2000),” at the University of Duisburg-Essen's Faculty of Social Sciences in February. His research shows that neoliberal hegemony in Peru was not primarily shaped by external influences but by internal developments. more

Carola Westermeier will join the MPIfG in April 2025 as the leader of a new Lise Meitner Research Group on Technology and Sovereignty, which will begin in October 2025. The new group will research at the intersections of economic sociology, international political economy, and critical security studies. more

The MPIfG is taking part in ARTEMIS, the Max Planck Society’s mentorship program to promote scientific exchange with African universities and research institutions. Camilla Locatelli and Dustin Voss (both MPIfG) are mentoring two doctoral researchers, Endalcachew Bayeh from the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, and Ngone Mirimi, a doctoral candidate in Development Economics at the Africa Research University of Zambia. more

Matthias Thiemann, professor for European public policy at Sciences Po in Paris, will be joining the MPIfG between April and June as this year’s Scholar in Residence. During his stay in Cologne, Thiemann will offer a three-part public lecture series, “Financial Stability, Shadow Banking, and the Conditions of Monetary Modernity: A Struggle in Three Acts.” more

The Volkswagen Foundation is providing around 940,000 euros in funding for a joint research project by Isabell Stamm (MPIfG) and Julia de Groote (WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management). Their project, “The Capital’s Shadow: Wealth Concentration in Startup Ecosystems,” will examine the role of influential investors in shaping the startup scenes in Paris and Berlin. more

On February 12, 2025, Fritz W. Scharpf, Emeritus Director at the MPIfG, will celebrate his ninetieth birthday. One of the most renowned political scientists in Germany, Scharpf’s research on joint decision making and multi-level governance in the European Union is internationally regarded as groundbreaking. more

The political scientist Fritz W. Scharpf, for many years a director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, turns ninety. more