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Global Challenges for the Model of Liberal Democracy and Market Economy

After the end of the Cold War, liberal democracy seemed to have prevailed for good. Today, 25 years later, however, the liberal model of political and economic order faces a profound crisis. The Cluster of Excellence Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS) analyzes the contemporary controversies about the liberal order from a historical, global, and comparative perspective.

Digital cross-border data flows are becoming one of the fastest growing components of global trade. For this reason, issues that potentially have a constraining or enhancing effect on digital data flows are increasingly addressed in bilateral or multilateral trade negotiations. These trade agreements appear to also have implications for national governments that are increasingly seeking to craft regulation designed to address a host of perceived democratic externalities posed by dominant technology firms.

Seit Bestehen der Bundesrepublik haben die Bundesländer zu unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten viele wichtige Aspekte ihres Schulsystems reformiert. Beispiele sind etwa die Regelungen zum Übergang von der Grund- zur weiterführenden Schule, Benotung in den ersten Grundschuljahren, Benotung des Verhaltens (Kopfnoten), verpflichtender Religionsunterricht oder auch die verpflichtende Belegung von MINT-Pflichtfächer im Abitur. Bislang wissen wir aber erstaunlich wenig darüber, welche Folgen solche Reformen für die Schülerleistungen und die Chancengleichheit haben.

A significant rise of not for profit think tanks in and similar civil society based organizations in number and level of activity has been observed over the last decades many of which are closely linked to academic, media, business, advocacy and other groups as well as public sector institutions. Uncertainty, complexity, and rising multi-stakeholder participation in political debate and policy making all have contributed to the growing demand for policy related expertise, which has long become an important tool to achieve policy objectives. Civil society in turn has become a source and resource in conflict constellations and a terrain in which important conflicts play out in close relation to arenas of the relevant political system(s).

Whether the European Union lacks democratic legitimation is a longstanding debate. The project REGIOPARL analyses how far European regions can function as a cornerstone of democracy within the European Union and what the limits and potentials of a multi-level governance system based on regions are. A special focus is thereby set on regional actors and citizens which link the regional and the European level. One partner in a research network of universities and civil society organizations, the WZB unit examines conflict structures and political bargaining processes of regional equalization and investment policies within regions in a comparative manner.

In this project we investigate the reorganization of production networks in China and in Germany through the "Internet of Things" (IoT) and digital platforms in the context of the “Made in China 2025” government strategy and the German concept of Industry 4.0. The goal is to identify characteristic pathways of digitalized manufacturing in both countries, and their impact on work and labor relations.

The qualitative research project addresses the following levels of analysis:

Die Energie- und Verkehrswende ist nicht nur eine komplexe technische Herausforderung, sondern vor allem auch ein gesellschaftliches Projekt, das langfristig angelegt ist und dessen Ausgang und Wirkungen noch völlig offen sind. Insbesondere im Verkehrsbereich zeigt sich, dass die bestehenden politischen und rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen sowie auch die vorherrschenden Präferenzen der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer einem grundlegenden Wandel entgegenstehen. Gleichzeitig wächst aber die Notwendigkeit, aus Gründen des Klimaschutzes, der Erhaltung der gesundheitlichen Integrität, der Erreichung globaler Gerechtigkeit und letztlich auch zur Sicherung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der deutschen Wirtschaft den Weg in eine postfossile Mobilitätszukunft einzuschlagen.