The aim of the conference was to analyse regressive tendencies in democratic political systems in Europe. The conference began with a keynote speech by Philip Manow, followed by further presentations by participants on the causes and effects of democratic regression. The focus was on the extent to which Italy and Germany are affected by this phenomenon, and whether they are robust enough to jointly combat democratic regression. In our discussion, we addressed the issue of increasing socio-economic inequality as a potential catalyst for right-wing populism. We discussed how the two countries can be positioned in relation to this issue, how they differ in this respect, and what alternative explanations there are for right-wing populism and regression. In a concluding reflection phase, Christina Zuber, Luca Verzichelli, and Gianfranco Baldini presented their thoughts on a possible systematisation of the phenomenon and proposed possible measures to combat regressive tendencies, which were discussed in an open round of talks with all participants.

From 28 to 31 October, the third edition of the interdisciplinary Villa Vigoni Autumn School took place at Lake Como in Italy. The conference was attended by master's and doctoral students from the universities of Hamburg, Flensburg, Bologna, Bocconi (Milan), Salento, and Fudan University in Shanghai. Once again, the event was co-organised by Prof. Glassmann acting on part of Europa-Universität Flensburg. His lecture was entitled: “The Political und Economic Thought of Trumpism: why are the wealthy und the poor in the US adopting a shared ideology”. This year's Autumn School focused on the topic of 'Multilateralism in the Post-Global World'. The 43 participants were welcomed by the Italian Ambassador to China, H.E. Massimo Ambrosetti, among others. Over the course of several days, lecturers from the participating universities delivered presentations on crisis trends and coping strategies in international relations. Students from all the participating universities in Germany, Italy and China worked together in groups to reflect on what they had learnt, delivering their own presentations on the last day of the event. The photo shows the four students from the Autumn School together with Ulrich Glassmann: Ronja Pawlowski, Finn Büttner, Dilekha Hasini Weeratunga and Xiaona Tian.

Between 28 September and 3 October 2025, economic sociologist Professor Gerhard Krauss, a faculty member at our partner university in France, the University of Rennes 2, was welcomed as a guest at the Department of Comparative Political Economy. This visit marks the beginning of a more profound exchange between the department and its counterparts from EMERGE, our European university alliance. During his visit, Professor Krauss delivered a variety of courses, including those on the failure of high-tech start-ups and cultural diversity and cooperation in organisations. Furthermore, he was entrusted with the delivery of an introductory course for first-year students, encompassing the subject of French sociology.

Professor Krauss shares a common interest with the department in understanding the shaping of the world of work under the conditions of new disruptive technologies. Professor Glassmann articulated his profound gratitude for the presence of such a dedicated and inspiring colleague during an intensive exchange in Flensburg. This case exemplifies the pivotal role that university alliances play in the realm of international cooperation.

In the course of his 2025 sabbatical, Ulrich Glassmann was a visiting professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna in the period between 17^th of June and 17^th of July 2025. During this time, he presented his empirical work on the causes of corruption and exchanged ideas with colleagues from the department on a new book entitled ‘The Political System of Italy’.

Furthermore, he collaborated with a colleague from the University of Salento to develop a programme for a DFG-funded conference on democratic regression in Germany and Italy, which is scheduled to take place in November 2025 at Villa Vigoni. Consequently, he initiated a series of interviews concerning municipal inclusion projects, drafted a third-party funding application, and commenced work on a publication dealing with ‘The Ideology of Right-wing Populism in the USA’.

As part of the 2025 research sabbatical, Prof. Glassmann took part in a delegation trip to China organized by Villa Vigoni (German-Italian Centre for the European Dialogue). First, he visited the Institute for Global Public Policy (IGPP) at Fudan University in Shanghai from May 25 - 28, 2025, where he took part in a conference on the EU-China Dialogue on Culture and Global Governance. The conference was attended by academics and students from Fudan University, the Universities of Bologna, Salento, Bocconi, Hamburg and the European University of Flensburg. As part of the conference program, Prof. Glassmann spoke about Growth Strategies in the EU and China Compared as well as Centre-Periphery Dynamics in the European Union and European Policy Responses. The conference was followed by a rich cultural exchange program, which included visits to various German foundations, the Italian Embassy and the Goethe Institute in Beijing. 

Between April 20 and May 20, Prof. Glassmann was a visiting researcher at the European University Institute in Florence (EUI). He was there at the invitation of the head of the Social Investment Working Group and prepared his new research project on social policy problems in advanced industrial economies. This project deals with the connection between the different growth strategies of Western countries and the resulting social imbalances (such as homelessness or mental health problems). The stay also served to prepare conference presentations on this topic at a conference held in May at Fudan University in Shanghai.   

On 09.04., Prof. Glassmann visited the Schleswig-Holstein State Representation in the company of the Director of the Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution of EUF, Prof. Dr. Ralf Wüstenberg, its Managing Director, Dr. Zeina Barakat, and the doctoral students of the graduate school. The doctoral students were granted an opportunity to present their projects and elucidate the work of the graduate school during a reception hosted by the State Secretary, Sandra Gerken. Prof. Glassmann expressed particular gratitude to the doctoral students for their perseverance and outstanding motivation in undertaking their dissertation projects, which are being conducted during a period of devastating international conflicts.

Efe Can Özek, former researcher at the department, wins the first prize of the Faculty III Award for his dissertation! His book - Constrained Opportunities - A Comparative Study on the Impact of Immigrant Political Incorporation on Political Transnationalism - has just come out with Springer. We would like to congratulate Efe for his achievement! Find out more about his book here.

From 29 to 30 January, Prof. Ulrich Glassman and Dr. Thomas Duttle visited the Matej Bel University (UMB), a partner university in the EMERGE Alliance. They prepared the foundation for the development of a joint interdisciplinary programme in "Philosophy, Politics and Economics". The EUF team had fruitful discussions with UMB pro-rectors, deans and other (academic) staff members about the potential for further collaborations between our two universities.