Comparative Politics
Focus Southeastern and Eastern Europe
Photo source: Irene Graf Fotografie.
The area of comparative political science with a focus on Eastern and Southeastern Europe researches and teaches on questions of political and economic transformation and the manifold crises in the region especially since the 2000s. At the center of its research programme are issues in comparative capitalism and the rise of of ultra-conservative and right-wing populist parties. Geographically, the area focuses on countries in Eastern Central Europe and the Western Balkans.
The area is involved in inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation at the University of Vienna, particularly within the framework of the Research Center for the History of Transformation (RECET). In this context, the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie project on Political Ecologies of Land in Southeast Europe, led by Dr. Katarina Kušić, and the doctoral program “The Dynamics of Change and the Logics of Transformation: State, Society, and Economy at Critical Junctures”, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) are particularly noteworthy.
The area organises the Vienna Seminars in Political and Economic Transformations (VIPET).
Research Goals
The research group is engaged in the analysis of current political processes and developments in the countries of Eastern Europe (East Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe). The focus is on analysis of democracy, democratisation and de-democratisation, which inspires both the interest in theory building and public engagement. Members of the group use theoretical concepts and methods of political-science research on political parties, political culture, corruption, gender, international relations, as well as memory and ethno-national identity politics. Important research focuses on the transformation process after 1989, and the legacy of state socialism. The group cooperates closely with other social sciences and humanities disciplines.
An analytical principle is the problem-oriented comparison. This is the frame of reference to reflect critically on "Western" democracies as well as the categories of "East" and "West". Interdependencies and transfer relations lie at the center of research interests.
The research group is integrated into the faculty's research focus on "Governance, democracy, solidarity" and also operates in an inter-and transdisciplinary context, such as at the former research platform “Vienna Forum of Eastern Europe“. In addition, the researchers have numerous cooperative relationships with academic institutions in Eastern Europe and research institutions around the world that focus on Eastern Europe studies.