Wolfgang Merkel

Social Science Research Center Berlin

He was born in 1952, studied political science, history, sports, and "international relations" in Heidelberg and Bologna; teaching and research at the universities of Bielefeld, Mainz, Harvard, Madrid, and Heidelberg.

Since 2004 he's director of the research unit "Democracy: Structures, Performance, Challenges" at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB); professor of political science at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Research focus: research on political regimes, democracy, and transformation, parties and party systems, comparative public policy, social justice and reform of the welfare state.

Further since 2004 he's deputy chairman of the Fachkollegium Sozialwissenschaften in der DFG (review board for the social sciences of the German Research Foundation); member of the Wissenschaftlicher Beirat beim Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (advisory council of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development);

Since December 2007 Wolfgang Merkel is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.