Publications and Lectures

Prof. Dr. Tine Stein calls for political engagement among Christians (08.2025)

August 9, 2025 | Salzburg University Weeks

As part of the Salzburg University Weeks, Prof. Dr. Tine Stein called for greater political engagement by Christians. In her lecture on Saturday, she emphasized the need for "resilient democracies" in the face of the challenges posed by authoritarian populism.

Prof. Stein called for a politically active republican attitude on the part of citizens, especially Christians. They should respond to the "apocalyptic mood" with composure and promote a new "culture of trust.” Her lecture focused on the causes of democratic crises, which she sees in the inadequate handling of polycrises such as the climate crisis and the loss of trust in political processes. To strengthen democratic resilience, Prof. Stein proposed, among other things, a fair further development of the tax system, the introduction of universal compulsory service and better preparation for disasters, as well as the expansion of media literacy in education.

This year's Salzburg University Weeks were held under the motto "What keeps us alive ... and what (perhaps) poisons us" and lasted from August 4th to August 10th. The event concluded with an academic ceremony featuring a lecture by Armin Laschet.

Lecture on conservative debates in the 20th century (07.2025)

July 17th and 18th, 2025 | University of Augsburg

On July 17 and 18, 2025, the workshop "Conservatism in the Federal Republic of Germany – Actors, Networks, Discourses" took place at the University of Augsburg. Tobias Adler-Bartels participated with a lecture on "Conservative Constellations and Conflicts – The Journal Criticón in the 1970s and 80s." In his contribution, he shed light on the internal struggles for interpretation within the journal Criticón, which was considered the central forum for right-wing intellectuals in the Federal Republic. He showed how conflicts over concepts, positions, and strategies shaped the conservative spectrum and what role the journal played in the self-understanding of these currents.

On citizenship as the fourth estate (06.2025)

June 27 and 28, 2025 | Law and Society Institute of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

On June 27 and 28, 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein gave a lecture entitled "Ambition Must Be Made To Counteract Corruption. On the Citizenry as a Fourth Power" as part of the international workshop "Separation of Powers" of the Law and Society Institute of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, which was organized in cooperation with Princeton University.

Trust in the Polycrisis (06.2025)

June 25, 2025 | Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

On June 25, 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein gave a lecture as part of the colloquium by Prof. Dr. Konrad Ott and Prof. Dr. Ludger Heidrich at the Department of Philosophy at Kiel University. The lecture was entitled "Trust in the Polycrisis".

Vigilance and resilience (06.2025)

June 25, 2025 | Catholic University Community Göttingen

On June 25, 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein gave a lecture as part of the BrownBag Seminar of the Institute of Social Science at Kiel University. The title of the lecture was "Wehrhaftigkeit und Resilienz. Demands on democracy in the polycrisis". She also gave this lecture on June 11 at the Katholische Hochschulgemeinde Göttingen.

Universalism, world domination and the ethos of humanity (06.2025)

June 5, 2025 | Catholic Academy Berlin

On June 5, 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein, together with Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Huber and Prof. Dr. Matthias Bormuth, presented the new book "Universalismus. Weltherrschaft und Menschheitsethos" by Prof. Dr. Hans Joas Buch at the Catholic Academy in Berlin. In his book, Joas examines the emergence of the human ethos from a global perspective, from the Axis period to modernity. He looks at its connection with imperial empire-building and questions the connection between universalism and imperialism. The lectures and discussion can be accessed online here.

Constitution and transformation after 1989/90 (05.25)

May 22, 2025 | Stadtmuseum Halle - Society for the Study of the History of Democracy

On 22 May 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein discussed the upheaval in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Halle City Museum at the invitation of the Society for the Study of the History of Democracy. In the year of German reunification, there were calls for a "constitution with a referendum" and a constitutional process. Prof. Dr. Stein was involved in this and also spoke here as a contemporary witness.

Long-term ecological responsibility in the parliamentary system (05.2025)

May 8, 2025 | German Society of the Club of Rome

On May 8, 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein gave an input at an "Online Fireside Chat" of the German Society of the Club of Rome. The title of the lecture was "Ecological long-term responsibility in the parliamentary system".

Parliamentarism and ecology (03.2025)

March 20 and 21, 2025 | Commission for the History of Parliamentarism and Political Parties (KGParl) and Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ)

On 20 and 21 March 2025, Prof. Dr. Stein gave a lecture entitled "Parliamentarism and Ecology" as part of the workshop "Parliamentary Representation in Crisis. What can historians contribute to the current debate?". The workshop was organized by the Commission for the History of Parliamentarism and Political Parties (KGParl) in cooperation with the Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ). The event highlighted current challenges in parliamentary representation and discussed possible causes.

Lecture on "Stadt-Öffentlichkeit" at the conference of the DVPW Theory Section (03.2025)

March 20, 2025 | University of Erfurt

On March 20, Dr. Verena Frick will give a lecture on "Stadt-Öffentlichkeit. Democratic potentiality and current threats to urban public space". This year's section conference is dedicated to the overarching theme of "Political Public Spheres: Structures” and will take place at the University of Erfurt. Click here for the program.

New publications on conservatism and Ko(h)lonisation (03.2025)

On February 26, 2025, a collective review by Tobias Adler-Bartels was published in the Politische Vierteljahresschrift. The review entitled "Ideologische Konflikte und historische Konstellationen - Forschungsperspektiven auf den Konservatismus” deals with current research perspectives from various publications on conservatism and thus highlights various ideological conflicts and relevant historical constellations. In March 2025, Merkur published an essay by Tobias Adler-Bartels entitled "Nach der Ko(h)lonisation” on German unity and the associated asymmetries between the old and new federal states.

Lecture on radical and moderate conservatism in the early Federal Republic (02.2025)

February 27, 2025 | Hamburg Institute for Social Research

On February 27, Tobias Adler-Bartels gave a lecture entitled "The Contested Boundaries of German Conservatism. Radical and Moderate Conservatives in the Early Federal Republic" on the topic of radical and moderate conservatism in the early Federal Republic. The lecture took place as part of the workshop "Politics of Demarcation and the Radical-Right in Post-War Europe: Defining what is Right” at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. The workshop aimed to examine the demarcation strategies within the radical right as a political movement, in particular the interplay of self-positioning and external attribution, in order to understand how, when and why these demarcations emerged, changed or disappeared, what functions they fulfilled and how they reacted to symbolic "cordons saintaires”.

Pope and Time - A Symposium with Otto Kallscheuer (01.2025)

January 30, 2025 | Karl Rahner Academy

On January 30, 2025, the symposium jointly organized by the Karl Rahner Academy/Cologne and the Department of Political Theory and History of Ideas/University of Göttingen on Otto Kallscheuer's work "Pope and Time. Heilsgeschichte und Weltpolitik" took place, in media partnership with the Gerda Henkel Foundation's science portal L.I.S.A., which recorded the event. Otto Kallscheuer's work has put the debate about the Catholic Church and the papacy on a new footing. The Catholic Church is presented here as a unique religious community and institution: endangered, paradoxical, anachronistic and at the same time resilient, intent on unity and indispensable as an actor in world history. Prof. Dr. Stein discussed problem-generating solutions for the church's relationship to modernity in a forum together with other experts from the fields of theology, history and political science. A recording of the symposium can be accessed here.

Lecture on "Urban Citizenship and National Membership" (01.2025)

January 22, 2025 | Johanna Quandt Young Academy Frankfurt

On January 22, Dr. Verena Frick gave a lecture on "Urban Citizenship and National Membership” as part of a Study Day at the Johanna Quandt Young Academy Frankfurt on the topic of "Socio-political complexities of public spaces”.

Vigilance and Resilience: Demands on Democracy in the Polycrisis (12.2024)

December 16, 2024 | Technische Universität Berlin

Prof. Dr. Tine Stein gave a lecture on December 16, 2024 at the Technical University of Berlin as part of the lecture series "Demokratie, Freiheit, Willbildung" at the Technical University of Berlin as part of the lecture series "Demokratie, Freiheit, Willensbildung”. As part of the lecture, she presented the challenges of democracy in times of multiple crises and explained the concept of resilient democracy.

Resilience and Resilience: Democracy in the Polycrisis (12.2024)

December 12, 2024 | Hochschule für Polizei und Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen

Prof. Dr. Tine Stein gave an online lecture on December 12, 2024 at the North Rhine-Westphalia University of Applied Sciences for Police and Administration on the topic of "Resilience and Resilience: Demands on Democracy in the Polycrisis”. In her lecture, she presented the concept of resilient democracy as a response to the current polycrisis. She also explained how political-institutional and ethical requirements must work together to make democracy resilient in the face of multiple challenges such as the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the rise of authoritarian populism.

Panel discussion "Wehrhafte Demokratie - Was ist das eigentlich?" (11.2024)

11 November 2024 | Humboldt-Universität Berlin

Prof. Dr. Tine Stein took part in the panel discussion "Wehrhafte Demokratie - Was ist das eigentlich? " of the Law and Society Institute of the Humboldt University Berlin. She provided impulses from the history of ideas and political theory on the foundations of defensive democracy.

Lecture at the Maison Heinrich Heine in Paris (11.2024)

November 7, 2024 | Maison Heinrich Heine, Paris

Tine Stein will give a lecture on November 7, 2024 in Paris at the Maison Heinrich-Heine on the ethical and political preconditions of the democratic constitutional state in the thought of Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde on the occasion of the publication of a new book on Böckenförde by Sylvie Le Grand Ticchi (Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, médiateur entre catholicisme et social-démocratie). Unfortunately, the lecture had to be canceled at short notice due to illness.

Lecture in Switzerland (11.2024)

November 7, 2024 | Franklin University Switzerland

Martin Beckstein will give a lecture entitled "Responses to Sub-replacement Fertility in Right-wing, Autocratic, and Liberal-democratic Discourses" at Franklin University Switzerland on November 7.

A democratic constitution for the Roman Catholic Church? (11.2024)

November 6, 2024 | Ruhr-Universität Bochum

On November 6, 2024, Tine Stein will give a lecture entitled "Eine demokratische Verfassung für die römisch-katholische Kirche?" in the context of the event series "Verfassungstheoretische Gespräche BO/BN" at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Revolutionary millimeters on the synodal path". Unfortunately, the lecture had to be canceled at short notice due to illness.

Panel discussion on the relationship between religion and the Basic Law (10.2024)

October 30, 2024 | Haus am Dom, Frankfurt am Main

On October 30, 2024, Prof. Dr. Tine Stein took part in a panel discussion on the topic "What do Halacha, Christian law and Sharia law say about democracy and the rule of law? 75 years of the Basic Law and the relationship between religion and the Basic Law" at Haus am Dom in Frankfurt am Main. The event was organized by the Hessische Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung and the Verein "Forum für Interkulturellen Dialog". The discussion was also published in full on YouTube.

Presentation at the conference "Democratic Postliberalism" (10.2024)

October 25-26, 2024 | Technical University of Darmstadt and Ruhr University Bochum

At the conference "Democratic post-liberalism? Attempts at social-ethical clarification in times of crisis of 'liberal democracy' from 25 to 26 October 2024 at the Technical University of Darmstadt and Ruhr University Bochum, Prof. Dr. Tine Stein gave a lecture on the topic "A critical review: Was there a 'good old days' of German democracy?". She addressed the success of the Federal Republic as a democratic constitutional state by balancing the limitations of democratic theory with the opportunities it offered, but also criticized the fact that these limitations were lost sight of.

"Politics in the Polycrisis" (09.2024)

September 24 to 27, 2024 | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

The 29th Congress "Politics in the Polycrisis" of the German Political Science Association will take place this year from September 24 to 27 at the University of Göttingen.

• Martin Beckstein will be represented with two lectures. First, on September 25, he will answer the question: "Can a revolution be conservative?" as part of the "Conservatism" panel. Beckstein will then speak on the panel "Digitalization and Autocracy" on the topic of "State-Run Dating Apps: Navigating the Thin Line Between Social Engineering and Digital Control."
• Verena Frick is represented at the congress with a roundtable and a panel. Together with Svenja Ahlhaus, Sonja Buckel, Andreas Paulus and Nora Markard, she will discuss questions of legitimacy and democracy in strategic litigation in the roundtable "Lawsuits in Crisis" on Thursday. On Friday, together with Marlon Barbehön, she will lead a panel on "Urban Dimensions of the Polycrisis".
• Tine Stein is organizing the roundtable "In the Crisis of Constitutional Democracy: What Can We Learn from the Göttingen Seven and Other 'Political Professors'?" together with Andreas Busch. (input and moderation). Together with Monika Oberle, she also organized the panel "Wehrhaftigkeit der Demokratie in der Polykrise - Politiktheoretische und politikdidaktische Perspektiven", in which she (together with Monika Oberle) also gave a lecture.

"We're exploring the ethics of online dating." (09.2024)

September 12 to 13, 2024 | University of Leeds

As part of the workshop "Ethical Dating Online", which will take place from September 12 to 13 at the University of Leeds, Martin Beckstein will give a lecture entitled "Designing Ethical Dating Apps" together with Bouke de Vries from the University of Ghent.

The STATE (Issue H2): "Much does not help much. On the critique of ecological constitutional policy" (09.2024)

Prof. Dr. Tine Stein has published an essay in the latest issue of the journal "Der STAAT" (issue 2, 2024) on the topic "Viel hilft nicht viel. On the critique of ecological constitutional policy". In her essay, she discusses the proposal by legal scholar Prof. Dr. Jens Kersten to subject the Basic Law to an ecological transformation.