How does Germany rank in Political Science and International Relations research?

Germany ranks #3 of 97 countries on research quality in Political Science and International Relations (2022–2025), with 16k works.

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Subfield · Political Science and International Relations · Germany

Political Science and International Relations research in Germany

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München ranks first in Germany for Political Science and International Relations research in 2022–2025 (#25 worldwide), followed by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin.

Germany's world rank: #3
Works, 2022–2025: 16k
Top-10% rate: 19.2%
Ranked institutions: 60

Research strength only: this says nothing about teaching, admissions or cost.

What is the best university for Political Science and International Relations in Germany?

#	Institution	World rank	Score	Top-10% rate	Works
1	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenMunich	#25	54.6	25.6%	353
2	Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlin	#34	50.3	25.5%	318
3	Freie Universität BerlinBerlin	#41	47.6	23.3%	472
4	Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main	#44	46.6	22.6%	352
5	University of BremenBremen	#66	40.9	28.4%	247
6	Universität HamburgHamburg	#74	39.3	18.1%	370
7	Johannes Gutenberg University MainzMainz	#87	37.0	26.4%	164
8	University of KonstanzKonstanz	#90	36.5	36.1%	146
9	WZB Berlin Social Science CenterBerlin	#94	35.9	40.7%	95
10	University of MünsterMünster	#117	32.8	22.6%	252
11	Hertie SchoolBerlin	#121	32.4	49.5%	88
12	University of TübingenTübingen	#125	31.9	20.3%	212
13	University of MannheimMannheim	#130	31.4	44.5%	112
14	University of Duisburg-EssenEssen	#157	28.7	29.5%	190
15	University of PotsdamPotsdam	#158	28.6	22.6%	187
16	Saarland UniversitySaarbrücken	#163	28.2	37.9%	84
17	Heidelberg UniversityHeidelberg	#165	28.0	20.0%	284
18	University of FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau	#181	26.7	20.9%	179
19	University of CologneCologne	#184	26.5	17.0%	256
20	University of BonnBonn	#186	26.3	15.4%	236
21	Leipzig UniversityLeipzig	#208	24.7	20.6%	185
22	Ruhr University BochumBochum	#228	23.4	16.2%	191
23	Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld	#229	23.4	19.5%	203
24	Friedrich Schiller University JenaJena	#250	22.1	24.8%	136
25	Max Planck SocietyMunich	#253	22.0	6.5%	436
26	Technische Universität DarmstadtDarmstadt	#270	21.0	24.1%	136
27	Osnabrück UniversityOsnabrück	#278	20.6	23.4%	114
28	Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielKiel	#283	20.4	16.9%	188
29	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergErlangen	#294	19.9	18.0%	178
30	TU Dortmund UniversityDortmund	#312	19.0	24.9%	99
31	University of KasselKassel	#347	17.5	14.6%	171
32	Technische Universität DresdenDresden	#354	17.2	21.2%	125
33	University of BambergBamberg	#358	17.1	24.7%	106
34	Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorf	#363	16.9	20.1%	144
35	German Institute for Global and Area StudiesHamburg	#367	16.7	34.5%	66
36	European University ViadrinaFrankfurt	#382	16.1	23.4%	96
37	Philipps University of MarburgMarburg	#403	15.4	16.6%	168
38	Universität TrierTrier	#404	15.4	21.8%	92
39	Technical University of MunichMunich	#406	15.3	32.8%	74
40	University of GöttingenGöttingen	#415	15.0	15.0%	145
41	Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, German Institute for International and Security AffairsBerlin	#430	14.5	23.9%	109
42	Helmut Schmidt UniversityHamburg	#432	14.4	27.3%	74
43	Leibniz University HannoverHanover	#435	14.3	15.8%	120
44	University of ErfurtErfurt	#449	13.9	17.6%	125
45	University of PassauPassau	#466	13.4	19.9%	109
46	Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergHalle	#512	12.0	16.0%	104
47	Justus-Liebig-Universität GießenGiessen	#519	11.8	16.2%	119
48	Technische Universität BerlinBerlin	#527	11.6	21.0%	85
49	Leuphana University of LüneburgLüneburg	#586	10.1	23.4%	69
50	University of AugsburgAugsburg	#613	9.5	13.1%	99
51	University of WürzburgWürzburg	#628	9.1	16.0%	89
52	Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg	#647	8.7	14.9%	84
53	University of BayreuthBayreuth	#655	8.6	17.3%	103
54	Chemnitz University of TechnologyChemnitz	#659	8.5	17.2%	93
55	Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International LawHeidelberg	#675	8.1	21.7%	81
56	Institute for Peace Research and Security PolicyHamburg	#677	8.1	4.4%	332
57	University of WuppertalWuppertal	#679	8.0	15.3%	79
58	University of StuttgartStuttgart	#698	7.7	21.0%	66
59	Universität der Bundeswehr MünchenMunich	#751	6.6	17.2%	77
60	University of RegensburgRegensburg	#773	6.2	15.7%	103

Institutions in Germany above the floor of 40 fractional works in Political Science and International Relations, ordered by their worldwide rank on research quality, 2022–2025.

Who are the top Political Science and International Relations researchers in Germany?

Niklas Luhmann, Ulrich Beck and Fritz W. Scharpf rank highest among researchers based in Germany.

1Niklas Luhmann#53 worldwide overall2.3k citations · 49 works
2Ulrich Beck#556 worldwide overall2.7k citations · 20 works
3Fritz W. Scharpf#718 worldwide overall1.3k citations · 64 works
4Uwe Schimank#2,694 worldwide overall604 citations · 17 works
5Wolfgang Streeck#3,133 worldwide overall838 citations · 48 works
6Claus Offe#3,259 worldwide overall746 citations · 21 works
7Stefan Kuhlmann#3,360 worldwide overall912 citations · 18 works
8Thomas Risse#3,395 worldwide overall980 citations · 36 works
9Anthony A. Hyman#3,430 worldwide overall1k citations · 17 works
10Renate Mayntz#3,903 worldwide overall481 citations · 22 works
11Wolfgang Wagner#4,700 worldwide overall997 citations · 37 works
12Günther Teubner#5,716 worldwide overall465 citations · 17 works
13Jürgen Osterhammel#5,719 worldwide overall286 citations · 22 works
14Colin Crouch#6,423 worldwide overall637 citations · 35 works
15Ruud Koopmans#7,965 worldwide overall597 citations · 31 works

How Germany compares with other countries in Political Science and International Relations