Curriculum

Prof. Dr. Christian Welzel is Professor of Research of Political Culture at the Institute of Political Science and head of the Center for the Study of Democracy at Leuphana University. He is President (emer.) and Vice-President of the World Values Survey Association (Stockholm, Sweden) and Fellow of the German Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina”. His research focus is on democratic theory, sociocultural evolution, development and empowerment, democratization, value formation, cultural change, protest participation and neighboring topics. He is in the top 3 of the best political scientists in Germany and is highly ranked worldwide in the areas of comparative politics (#20) and political psychology/public opinion (#10) as well as democratization (#5).

• Since 2010: Professor of Research of Political Culture at the Institute of Political Science and the Center for Democracy Studies, Leuphana University Lüneburg
• 2010-2020: Director, National Research University - Higher School of Economics (Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia)
• 2010-2020: Adjunct Professor, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
• 2006-2010: Full Professor of Political Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
• 2006-2010: Field Coordinator, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), Germany
• 2009: Humboldt-Fellow, Center for the Study of Democracy (UC Irvine, USA)
• 2009: POSCO Fellow at the East West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA
• 2007: Visiting Professor, Center for the Study of Democracy (UC Irvine, USA)
• 2006: Visiting Professor at the Center for the Study of Democracy (UC Irvine, USA)
• 2004-2006: Program Coordinator, Integrated Social Science undergraduate and graduate program, Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany)
• 2002-2005: Associate Professor of Political Science, Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany)
• 2001: Visiting Professor, Universität Potsdam, Germany
• 2000: Habilitation (“Higher Doctorate”) in Political Science, Free University Berlin, Germany
• 1997-2000: Senior research fellow in the department “Institutions and Social Change” of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (Germany)
• 1996: Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Potsdam (Distinction)
• 1993-1996: Research fellow and lecturer in German politics, University of Potsdam (Germany)
• 1992: Research fellow and lecturer in German and Comparative Politics, University of Mainz (Germany)
• 1991: Ph.D. student in political science, University of the Saarland (Saarbruecken, Germany)
• 1991, M.A. in Political Science and Economic History, University of the Saarland (Germany)
• 1990: Research assistant in the Department of Political Science at Saarland University, Saarbrücken/Germany

Awards, Grants, Fellowships (Selection)

• 2022: Member, Academy of Sciences Goettingen
• 2018: Academic Honors Medal by the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow, Russia, for exceptional contributions to academic development and international cooperation
• 2017: Reinhart Koselleck Grant by the German Science Foundation (DFG: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for the proposal “The Cool Water Effect: The Roots of Western Civilization’s Emancipatory Dynamic”
• 2015: Member, German Academy of Sciences ("Leopoldina")
• 2014: Stein Rokkan Prize 2014 in Comparative Social Science for the CUP monograph Freedom Rising (ECPR – European Consortium of Political Research, ISSC - International Social Science Council, University of Bergen)
• 2014: Alexander L. George Award 2014 for Freedom Rising as the best book of the year published in political psychology (ISPP – International Society for Political Psychology)

Memberships in Science Foundations

• Austrian Science Foundation (FWF)
• European Commission
• Estonian Science Foundation
• German Science Foundation (DFG)
• Israeli Science Foundation
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Swiss National Fund (SNF)

Board Memberships (Selection)

• Consulting editor, Political Behavior
• Consulting editor, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
• Consultant, GfK’s (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung) study on value change
• Advisor, expert group of the EU Commission on value orientations towards science and technology
• Member, executive committee of the World Values Surveys Association
• Member, academic council, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences
• Member, advisory committee, „Mehr Demokratie Wagen e.V.“
• Advisor, World Bank, World Development Report 2013, Washington DC
• Expert, Future Dialogue of the Chancellor, Berlin

Research interests

• Modernisierung, sozialer Wandel, und Human Empowerment
• Demokratisierung, Demokratiemessung und Qualität von Governance
• Werteformation, kultureller Wandel und öffentliche Meinung
• Protestbeteiligung und soziale Bewegungen
• Zivilgesellschaft und Sozialkapital