The WZB Berlin Social Science Center (german: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, WZB), also known by its German initials WZB, is an internationally renowned research institute for the

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

, the largest such institution in Europe not affiliated with a university. It was founded in 1969 through an all-party initiative of the German ''

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

''."Brief Timeline of the WZB"
accessed 2008-07-02 Around 140 German and foreign sociologists, political scientists, economists, historians, statisticians, computer scientists and legal scholars work in the WZB conducting

basic research Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied rese ...

on selected social and political issues, concentrating on the industrialized societies of Japan and the West, as well as the transformations of Central and Eastern Europe and China. The question of globalization is of particular importance.

Research areas

The WZB is organized into seven research areas: # Dynamics of Social Inequalities # Markets and Choice # Digitalization and Societal Transformation # International Politics and Law # Dynamics of Political Systems #

Migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

and Diversity #

Political Economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

of Development Constituted as a non-profit limited liability company (GmbH), ownership is shared between the federal government (75 percent) and the city-state of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(25 percent). WZB is a member of the

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community The Leibniz Association (German: ''Leibniz-Gemeinschaft'' or ''Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz'') is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines. As of 2020, 96 non-university research insti ...

. Although not a university body, it collaborates with

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

Hertie School of Governance The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin's Friedrichstraße. Hertie School is according ...

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

, Technical University of Berlin,

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

, as well as with research institutions in Berlin and abroad. Many WZB scientists are also university professors or hold teaching assignments. Recent presidents of the WZB have included Meinolf Dierkes (1980–1987),

Wolfgang Zapf Wolfgang Zapf (* Frankfurt am Main 25 April 1937; † Berlin 26 April 2018) was a German sociologist. Education Zapf visited basic school and secondary school emphasizing modern languages in Frankfurt am Main. He obtained his final examinatio ...

(1987–1994),

Friedhelm Neidhardt Friedhelm is a name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Friedhelm Busse (1929–2008), German national socialist politician and activist *Friedhelm Döhl (born 1936), German composer and professor of music * Friedhelm Eronat (born 1953), Geneva-b ...

(1994–2000), and historian

Jürgen Kocka Professor Emeritus Jürgen Kocka (born 19 April 1941 in Haindorf, Sudetenland) is a German historian. A university professor and former president of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (2001–2007), Kocka is a major figure in the new So ...

(2001–2007). The current president is sociologist

Jutta Allmendinger Jutta Allmendinger (born September 26, 1956, in Mannheim) is a German sociologist who has been serving as the president of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and a professor of educational sociology and labor market research at Humboldt Univers ...

. WZB is said to be the largest such research institution for the social sciences in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Around 140 social scientists are conducting research on the developmental trends, problems of adaptation, and possibilities for innovation in modern societies. The

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

and the federal state of Berlin have been shareholders and main funders since 1976. WZB headquarters on

Landwehrkanal The Landwehr Canal (german: Landwehrkanal), is a canal parallel to the Spree river in Berlin, Germany, built between 1845 and 1850 to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné. It connects the upper part of the Spree at the eastern harbour () in Friedr ...

in Berlin-Tiergarten was designed 1979–1988 by the British architects James Stirling and

Michael Wilford Michael Wilford CBE (born 1938) is an English architect from Hartfield, East Sussex. Wilford studied at the Northern Polytechnic School of Architecture, London, from 1955 to 1962, and at the Regent Street Polytechnic Planning School, London, i ...

integrating the 1894 building of Reichsversicherungsamt.

A.SK Social Science Award and Fellowships

Since 2007 the WZB grants the A.SK Award and Fellowships biannually: “The 100,000 Euro A.SK Social Science Award is one of the best-endowed awards in the social sciences. The endowment capital has been donated by the Chinese entrepreneurs Angela and

Shu Kai Chan Shu may refer to: China * Sichuan, China, officially abbreviated as Shu (蜀) * Shu (state) (conquered by Qin in 316 BC), an ancient state in modern Sichuan * Shu Han (221–263) during the Three Kingdoms Period * Western Shu (405–413), also ...

. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to social and political reform.” In German media award and fellowships were compared with internationally recognized prizes, such as the '' Johan Skytte Prize'' and the '' Balzan Prize''. In 2007 all laureates for the Award and Award Fellowships were nominated and chosen by a selection committee consisting of: Prof.

, Prof. Werner Abelshauser, Prof. Stefano Bartolini, Prof. Lord Dahrendorf Prof. Peter Katzenstein and Prof.

Kai A. Konrad Kai A. Konrad (born 1961 in Heidelberg) is a German economist with his main research interest in public economics. Education Konrad got his university degrees at the University of Heidelberg ( Diplom in Economics, 1985) and the Ludwig Maximilian ...

. Since 2009 the WZB also publishes Calls for Nominations for the A.SK Fellowship. In 2015 the selection committee includes: Prof. Jutta Allmendinger, Prof. Werner Abelshauser, Prof. Kurt Biedenkopf, Prof.

Dorothea Kübler Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cri ...

, Prof. Orlando Patterson and Prof. Shalini Randeria. The A.SK Award and Fellowships are handed over in a public ceremony, honoring the laureates and including leading politicians or scholars as speakers, in Berlin. In 2009 the ceremony was part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the WZB with the German president

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; born 22 February 1943) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU (of which he is a member) and the CSU, as well as the ...

as one of the speakers.

Recipients of the A.SK Social Science Award and A.SK Social Science Award Fellowships

2019 Raj Chetty 2017

John Ruggie John Gerard Ruggie (18 October 1944 – 16 September 2021) was the Berthold Beitz Research Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and an affiliated professor in international legal studie ...

(Award) Philipp Hacker Alexander Horn 2015

Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French–American economist who is a professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the co-founder and co-director of the Abd ...

(Award) Robert Lepenies Juliana Silva Goncalves Mahnaz Zahirinejad Varnosfaderani 2013

Paul Collier Sir Paul Collier, (born 23 April 1949) is a British development economist who serves as the Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government and the director of the International Growth Centre. He currently is a ...

(Award) Daniel Tischer

Rami Zeedan Rami Zeedan is an Israeli Druze political scientist and historian, currently an assistant professor of Israel Studies at the University of Kansas (USA). Education and career Zeedan studied at the University of Haifa in Israel, completing his Ph ...

Olga Ulybina Josef Hien Theresa Reinold 2011:

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

(Award) Yaman Kouli Thamy Pogrebinschi Martin Schröder 2009 Martha C. Nussbaum (Award) Arolda Elbasani Alexander Petring Juan Fernandez 2007 Sir Anthony Atkinson (Award) Andreas Leutzsch Felix Kolb Janine Leschke

People affiliated with WZB

Ralf Dahrendorf Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf, Baron Dahrendorf, (1 May 1929 – 17 June 2009) was a German-British sociologist, philosopher, political scientist and liberal politician. A class conflict theorist, Dahrendorf was a leading expert on explaining and a ...

* William H. Starbuck

Notes

External links