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Research facility · Berlin · Germany

WZB Berlin Social Science Center

In research, WZB Berlin Social Science Center stands highest in Political Science and International Relations (#94 of 1,201 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,058 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#677 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations — Political Science and International Relations is 13.3× its share of world research.

wzb.euROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#6,309
of 28,054 · #4,074 all time
Rank in Germany
#263
of 1,178
Research works
2.8k
▲ 17% vs 2013–17
Citations
71k
25.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
35.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
44%
world 28%

What is WZB Berlin Social Science Center known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #94 of 1,201 40.7%95 #57
Social SciencesDomain #1,058 of 10,521 37.7%405 #487
Social SciencesField #677 of 6,365 40.3%308 #345
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #449 of 2,578 41.4%129 #240

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where WZB Berlin Social Science Center sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Political Science and International Relations#57 #94
  2. Social Sciences#487 #1,058
  3. Social Sciences#345 #677
  4. Sociology and Political Science#240 #449
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does WZB Berlin Social Science Center specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 13.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 95.0 works13×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.23× its world share, 6 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.30× its world share, 2 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.35× its world share, 13 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.26× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.10× its world share, 7 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.43× its world share, 10 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.67× its world share, 4 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.19× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 1.26× its world share, 16 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.12× its world share, 11 worksMedicineNursing: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 1.66× its world share, 23 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.70× its world share, 26 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.74× its world share, 8 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.25× its world share, 23 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.14× its world share, 17 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 5.05× its world share, 308 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Social Sciences, 5.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at WZB Berlin Social Science Center?

Ranked on the composite score, Ruud Koopmans, Wolfgang Merkel and Michael Zürn lead among researchers whose main affiliation is WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

  1. 1 Ruud Koopmans Germany · #7,965 worldwide 597 citations · 75 works
  2. 2 Wolfgang Merkel Germany · #15,909 worldwide 377 citations · 79 works
  3. 3 Michael Zürn Germany · #48,821 worldwide 142 citations · 65 works
  4. 4 Ulrich Jürgens Germany · #86,013 worldwide 155 citations · 77 works
  5. 5 Hans‐Dieter Klingemann Germany · #143,276 worldwide 105 citations · 67 works
  6. 6 Meinolf Dierkes Germany · #149,415 worldwide 80 citations · 56 works
  7. 7 Wolfgang Zapf Germany · #181,762 worldwide 70 citations · 25 works
  8. 8 Swen Hutter Germany · #181,845 worldwide 92 citations · 34 works
  9. 9 Günther Schmid Germany · #210,624 worldwide 108 citations · 72 works
  10. 10 Martin Krzywdzinski Germany · #215,625 worldwide 72 citations · 36 works
All ranked researchers at WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Which keywords describe research at WZB Berlin Social Science Center?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Governance, Democracy, Public Opinion, Nationalism, Social Media, Human Rights and Political Economy.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Globalization69▲ 7.3×47 topics
  2. Social Media32▲ 4.6×17 topics
  3. Governance29▲ 18×10 topics
  4. Democracy28▲ 16×12 topics
  5. Human Rights27▲ 5.5×32 topics
  6. Public Opinion27▲ 45×5 topics
  7. Nationalism26▲ 12×15 topics
  8. Political Economy21▲ 17×10 topics
  9. Neoliberalism21▲ 12×13 topics
  10. Leadership18▲ 8.0×6 topics
  11. Labor Market18▲ 13×11 topics
  12. Innovation17▲ 3.4×10 topics
  13. Social Policy17▲ 38×5 topics
  14. Income Inequality16▲ 24×7 topics
  15. Digitalization16▲ 16×2 topics
  16. Global Governance15▲ 14×11 topics
  17. Institutional Change15▲ 85×2 topics
  18. Political Communication15▲ 57×2 topics
  19. Europe15▲ 51×2 topics
  20. Participation15▲ 31×2 topics
  21. Crisis Management15▲ 72×2 topics
  22. Complex Systems14▲ 28×1 topic
  23. Policy Change14▲ 222×1 topic
  24. Latin America14▲ 16×5 topics
  25. Social Capital14▲ 5.5×14 topics
  26. Welfare State13▲ 32×3 topics
  27. Ideational Power13▲ 86×1 topic
  28. Redistribution13▲ 86×1 topic
  29. Populism13▲ 122×1 topic
  30. Religion13▲ 5.5×13 topics
  31. Right-Wing13▲ 122×1 topic
  32. Political Science12▲ 80×4 topics
  33. NGOs12▲ 26×4 topics
  34. Economic Policy12▲ 47×4 topics
  35. Imperialism11▲ 30×5 topics
  36. International Law11▲ 7.6×8 topics
  37. Empirical Analysis11▲ 100×1 topic
  38. Voter Behavior11▲ 100×1 topic
  39. Authoritarianism10▲ 24×5 topics
  40. Class Struggle10▲ 60×2 topics

Which research topics does WZB Berlin Social Science Center publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Public Administration and Political Analysis, Social Policy and Reform Studies, Populism, Right-Wing Movements and Electoral Systems and Political Participation.

Public Administration an…14Public Administration and Political Analysis: 14 fractional worksSocial Policy and Reform…13Social Policy and Reform Studies: 13 fractional worksPopulism, Right-Wing Mov…13Populism, Right-Wing Movements: 13 fractional worksElectoral Systems and Po…11Electoral Systems and Political Participation: 11 fractional worksSocial Media and Politics: 8 fractional worksDigital Economy and Work Transformation: 8 fractional worksPolitical Conflict and G…8Political Conflict and Governance: 8 fractional worksTerrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence: 7 fractional worksEconomic and Social Issues: 7 fractional worksInnovation, Technology, …7Innovation, Technology, and Society: 7 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsCommunicationSociology and Political Science

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Public Administration and Political Analysis Political Science and International Relations 14 works
  2. 2 Social Policy and Reform Studies Political Science and International Relations 13 works
  3. 3 Populism, Right-Wing Movements Political Science and International Relations 13 works
  4. 4 Electoral Systems and Political Participation Political Science and International Relations 11 works
  5. 5 Social Media and Politics Communication 8 works
  6. 6 Digital Economy and Work Transformation Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  7. 7 Political Conflict and Governance Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  8. 8 Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence Sociology and Political Science 7 works
  9. 9 Economic and Social Issues Sociology and Political Science 7 works
  10. 10 Innovation, Technology, and Society Sociology and Political Science 7 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available43.5%not open56.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.3%domestic only80.7%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has WZB Berlin Social Science Center's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 17% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Berlin

All research institutions in Berlin

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.