Modern Political Theory
Modern Political Theory
Dr. Jan Sauermann was appointed to the professorship for "Modern Political Theory" at the Institute for Social Sciences at the University of Oldenburg in March 2021. He previously worked as a research assistant at the Chair of Comparative Politics at the University of Cologne.
Sauermann studied economics in the social sciences at the University of Cologne. After working as a research assistant at the Chair of Comparative Politics and a research stay at New York University, he completed his doctorate in 2010 as part of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy in Cologne. He then worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies before returning to the University of Cologne as an academic advisor.
Sauermann's research interests include experimental political science and political theory. He concentrates on questions of how groups can achieve common goals and how they arrive at joint decisions. His particular focus here is on research into new voting mechanisms and the question of how social preferences such as fairness and altruism influence decision-making.
Science meets political practice:
Lower Saxony panel presents first results at Leibnizhaus Hannover
What motivates people in Lower Saxony? What do they think about climate protection, democracy and artificial intelligence? The Lower Saxony Panel provides answers to these questions - and presented them to a broad public from politics and society for the first time: on 5 May 2026, the project managers invited people to the "Science meets political practice" workshop at Leibnizhaus Hannover.
The Lower Saxony Panel is a long-term, interdisciplinary research instrument that systematically records the attitudes and behaviour of the population in Lower Saxony. Since its launch in July 2025, more than 5,000 participants have registered. The panel is part of the research area "Behavioural Economics and Social Transformation", funded as part of the zukunft.niedersachsen programme of the Volkswagen Foundation and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture.
The initial survey (August 2025 to March 2026) has already yielded revealing results on key social issues: political attitudes and satisfaction with democracy, attitudes towards climate change and sustainability as well as the use and perception of artificial intelligence. These findings were presented to representatives from politics and society for the first time at the workshop and met with a broad response.
"The Lower Saxony Panel is not only intended to provide scientific findings, but also to make them usable for evidence-based policymaking," emphasises Prof. Dr Mario Mechtel, project leader and Professor of Empirical Microeconomics at Leuphana University Lüneburg. "The dialogue with political decision-makers is a central component of our work."
In addition to the presentation of initial study results, there was a joint discussion about which other topics could be of interest to the Lower Saxony Panel in the future and how scientific findings can be used for future-oriented policy.
"The great response to our initial results shows how much interest there is in scientifically sound insights into social developments in Lower Saxony," says Dr Janina Kraus, project coordinator. "It is particularly pleasing that numerous synergies have already been identified in dialogue with representatives from politics and society. It is precisely this dialogue between science and practice that is crucial in order to develop joint perspectives for future challenges."
Anyone with a permanent residence in Lower Saxony can still register for the Lower Saxony Panel at www.niedersachsenpanel.de.
The project is supported by seven universities in Lower Saxony and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT: Clausthal University of Technology, Georg August University Göttingen, Leibniz University Hannover, Leuphana University Lüneburg, University of Oldenburg, University of Osnabrück and University of Vechta.
Press contact:
Dr Janina Kraus
Project Coordination Lower Saxony Panel
Email:
Phone: 04131-677-2938
Web: www.niedersachsenpanel.de