Susanne Pickel

Prof. Dr. Susanne Pickel holds the Professorship for Political Science with a focus on Comparative Politics at the Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). She leads multiple significant research projects examining political culture, democracy measurement, transformation processes, and political participation, with particular expertise in East-West German comparisons, Eastern European societies, and attitudes toward migration and antiziganism.

Her research interests span political culture and attitude research, democracy studies, transformation processes in post-communist states, political participation mechanisms, and comparative government systems. She employs both quantitative and qualitative methods with a focus on triangulation. Her work often examines intersectional inequality, particularly among migrant populations, and investigates how political systems respond to diverse citizen needs. She has conducted extensive research on Eastern European countries, supplemented by studies of Latin American and Southern European nations.

Prof. Pickel leads the ongoing research project 'Nicht gesehen, nicht gesprochen, nicht gehört. Politische Responsivität und intersektionale Ungleichheit (NIG)' funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), running from 2025-2027. She previously led the BMBF-funded consortium project 'Radikaler Islam versus radikaler Anti-Islam' (RIRA) from 2020-2024, the BMFSFJ-funded 'Gesellschaftliche Konflikte und Dynamiken des Parteienwettbewerbs in der Migrations- und Integrationspolitik' (MigRep) from 2020-2023, the DeZIM/BMFSFJ-funded 'Pilotstudie Antiziganismus' from 2020-2021, and the EKD-funded 'Repräsentative Bevölkerungsumfrage zu Kirchenmitgliedschaft und politische Kultur' from 2020-2022.

Her research team currently includes Katharina Kowalski as research assistant, with previous collaborators including Cemal Öztürk, Peter Krumpholz, Toralf Stark, and Kevin Spallek. She works closely with the InZentIM research center and collaborates with numerous national and international institutions including the Rhein-Ruhr Institute for Social Research and Policy Consulting, the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research, and universities in Osnabrück, Braunschweig, and Leipzig.

Prof. Pickel has led student excursions to Cluj, Romania, focusing on political culture in Eastern Europe. Her work connects theoretical political science with practical applications, particularly regarding political representation of marginalized groups, democratic resilience, and the measurement of political attitudes in diverse societies.