Individual chapters adress the key questions of whether, how, and to what extent the Cold War influenced the development of the welfare state in Europe and North America.

The volume explores the relationship between national and social security from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, bringing together research from political science and history in an interdisciplinary approach.

The handbook is available at the following link: global.oup.com/academic/product/the-cold-war-and-welfare-state-development-in-industrialized-countries-9780198990291;

The contributions in this handbook focus on both social policy at the regional level and policies at the national level.

Various chapters examine questions such as: “What are the main social policies and social policy institutions in place in the Global South?”, “What explains their current level of development and future dynamics?”, and “What are the outstanding factors influencing social policies in the Global South?”

Read the handbook digitally at the following link: doi.org/10.1093/9780191992025.001.0001

And available in print starting July 16, 2026.

Read more: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/14680181261429928

This exchange forms part of BayCHINA’s program to support students and researchers from Bavarian public universities and universities of applied sciences, with the goal of strengthening academic collaboration and dialogue between Bavaria and China. BayCHINA serves as a central service institution for Bavarian higher education institutions in advancing academic relations with China.<u1:p></u1:p>

 We congratulate Gervin on this achievement and wish him a productive and rewarding experience in China.<u1:p></u1:p>

Prof. Carina Schmitt wird auch in der dritten Förderphase zusammen mit Prof. Herbert Obinger ein Teilprojekt leiten. In dem Teilprojekt wird untersucht, wie sich unterschiedliche Sozialpolitik weltweit auf Armut und Ungleichheit auswirkt.

His cumulative dissertation examines the remunicipalization of local electricity grids in Germany and shows that these processes in the 2010s were shaped less by political motives than by functional and contextual factors. Two of the three articles written as part of the dissertation have already been published in international journals:

Reppert, T. (2023): Local-level ownership of electricity grids: An analysis of Germany's distribution system operators (DSOs). Utilities Policy, 85. doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2023.101678

Reppert, T. (2024): Back to the future? An analysis of party influence on electricity grid remunicipalisation in Germany. Local Government Studies, 1–27. doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2024.2424811

Prof. Dr. Carina Schmitt was the primary supervisor of the dissertation. The doctoral committee also included Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieberer (University of Bamberg) and Prof. Dr. Herbert Obinger (University of Bremen).

The Chair of Policy Analysis congratulates Thorsten Reppert on his successful doctorate and wishes him all the best for his future career.

How does interstate war affect social policy preferences? Historical research has emphasised war-induced surges in demand for social protection, solidarity and fairness norms as central factors behind welfare expansion. Yet evidence for demand-side shifts remains unsystematic and restricted to a handful of Western countries. The outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine has undoubtedly led to substantial shifts in popular attitudes. Based on original survey evidence from post-invasion Ukraine, matched with geolocated conflict data, this article seeks to elucidate the role of warfare in shaping welfare attitudes and prosocial preferences. We distinguish between two types of war impacts – proximate exposure to war violence and war-related financial deterioration – and show that these affect welfare-related attitudes differently. Whereas proximate exposure to conflict promotes national-level solidarity, war-related material victimisation is associated with higher support for social spending. Only weak support is found for an effect on fairness norms. While indicating that the historical link between warfare and demand for social policy has wider applicability, the results also underscore the variated impact of war and the resulting individual-level heterogeneity in attitudes. Finally, with the war ongoing, the Ukrainian case highlights the question of under which circumstances welfare demand may translate into policy change.

Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2025.2463640

In his study, Thorsten Reppert explores how political factors shape decisions to remunicipalise electricity grids in Germany. Drawing on a dataset covering around 2,000 municipalities, he tests partisan theory to determine whether the strength of political parties at the local level influences the transfer of electricity grids back into municipal ownership.

The study identifies a cautious shift towards remunicipalisation of electricity grids in Germany since the 2010s, although private operators are still more widespread. Interestingly, the strength of left-wing or green parties plays only a minor role in this trend. Instead, factors such as population size, financial resources, and variations in local political institutions prove to be more influential. The study highlights the crucial role of local governments in shaping energy policy, particularly in the context of upcoming grid contract renewals and the energy transition.

You can access the study here: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PRGWERBISGIQZTRDRUHQ/full?target=10.1080/03003930.2024.2424811