Driven by Academic Norms and Status of Employment: The Advisory Roles of Political Scientists in Germany

The consensus-seeking nature of Germany’s civic epistemology and largely absent structural incentives for advisory work of academics may imply an overall comparatively lower engagement. Yet, German political science stands in the tradition of a ‘watchdog’ of democracy, and the past decades bear witness of continued involvement in societal and political debates. Not least, German political scientists have led a vivid internal debate on the ‘relevance of our discipline’ in recent years, reflected in a number of conferences and publications. Germany thus makes an interesting case regarding the advisory role of political scientists in a comparative perspective. This chapter studies how, to whom, and how often political scientists in Germany provide their expertise for policymaking. It is based on the German results of the ProSEPS survey, accompanied by a case illustration of advice and opinionating on the rise of populism. The analysis shows not only that German political scientists are less active in comparison to colleagues in many other countries but also that they are more active than could be expected—with academic norms and employment situation forming key explanatory factors for the level and forms of engagement.