Dr Martin Gross has been appointed to the professorship of ‘The Political System of Germany and the EU’ at the Institute of Social Sciences. He was previously a permanent lecturer at the University of Munich.
Gross studied political science and public administration at the University of Konstanz, as well as 20th-century history and politics in Jena, where he also obtained his PhD in 2015. Research and teaching placements took him to Mannheim, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark.
His research focuses on political parties, political competition and political representation within democratic systems. Gross focuses on the question of how political actors at different levels – ranging from local authorities to national systems and to the European Union – compete with one another, make decisions, and represent societal interests. He examines how coalitions are formed, how governments collaborate, how parties manage internal political disputes, and the growing significance of new political actors, such as independent voter groups. European integration is also a key part of his research. In this context, he focuses on the role of political parties in addressing European issues and in EU cohesion policy.