Law and Political Science
Law and Political Science is a research topic within Law. Science Explorer counts 17k research works in it since 1950. 12.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the evolution of legal systems, jurisprudence, and governance in European countries, focusing on topics such as party competition, legal methodology, privacy in the digital age, migration law, constitutional courts, regulatory agencies, human rights protection, European law dynamics, and criminal justice. It reflects a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the changing landscape of legal studies and its intersection with societal and technological developments.
- Party Competition
- Legal Methodology
- Privacy
- Migration Law
- Digital Governance
- Constitutional Courts
- Regulatory Agencies
- Human Rights
- European Law
- Criminal Justice
- Research works
- 17k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 2.1k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 12.0% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +16% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Law and Political Science research?
By volume, Germany and Austria publish the most (1.6k and 302 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Germany 1.6k works
- 2 Austria 302 works
- 3 Switzerland 94 works
- 4 United States 92 works
- 5 Poland 47 works
- 6 United Kingdom 32 works
- 7 France 32 works
- 8 Russia 25 works
- 9 Türkiye 25 works
- 10 Netherlands 24 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Law and Political Science research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Vienna publishes the most Law and Political Science research, followed by Bergmann und Partner Rechtsanwälte and University of Münster.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of ViennaAustria 50 works
- 2 Bergmann und Partner RechtsanwälteGermany 46 works
- 3 University of MünsterGermany 40 works
- 4 University of GrazAustria 35 works
- 5 Bielefeld UniversityGermany 35 works
- 6 Austrian Foundry Research InstituteAustria 34 works
- 7 Heidelberg UniversityGermany 34 works
- 8 Vienna University of Economics and BusinessAustria 30 works
- 9 Universität InnsbruckAustria 27 works
- 10 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenGermany 27 works
Who are the leading researchers in Law and Political Science?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Law and Political Science include Th. Müller, A. Schmidt and Niklas Luhmann.
- 1 Th. Müller United States 2.8k citations
- 2 A. Schmidt United States 2.3k citations
- 3 Niklas Luhmann Germany 2.3k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Law and Political Science research done?
The largest centres of Law and Political Science research in 2022–2025 are Berlin (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Munich (Germany) and Hamburg (Germany). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Hamm, Leoben and Wiesbaden.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Berlin Germany 149 works
- 2 Vienna Austria 146 works
- 3 Munich Germany 98 works
- 4 Hamburg Germany 75 works
- 5 Frankfurt am Main Germany 66 works
- 6 Cologne Germany 60 works
- 7 Heidelberg Germany 49 works
- 8 Hamm Germany 46 works
- 9 Münster Germany 45 works
- 10 Graz Austria 40 works
Where it is the local speciality
- HammDE · 46.1 works400×
- LeobenAT · 34.9 works132×
- WiesbadenDE · 28.8 works88×
- TrierDE · 20.3 works75×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Law and Political Science than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Law and Political Science?
Among universities, judged by research, Leibniz University Hannover, University of Münster and Osnabrück University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leibniz University HannoverGermany | 73.0 | 36.8% | 28.0× | 20 | +0.2% |
| 2 | University of MünsterGermany | 64.3 | 15.8% | 47.9× | 40 | +12.6% |
| 3 | Osnabrück UniversityGermany | 62.1 | 15.8% | 60.5× | 15 | +180.9% |
| 4 | Bielefeld UniversityGermany | 61.6 | 1.0% | 61.9× | 35 | +226.2% |
| 5 | University of KasselGermany | 60.1 | 22.4% | 39.0× | 15 | +47.7% |
| 6 | University of CologneGermany | 60.0 | 1.3% | 33.2× | 26 | +225.9% |
| 7 | Heidelberg UniversityGermany | 59.0 | 5.4% | 27.0× | 34 | +39.7% |
| 8 | University of ViennaAustria | 57.1 | 4.0% | 42.6× | 50 | -36.7% |
| 9 | University of AugsburgGermany | 56.7 | 5.9% | 43.2× | 14 | +453.5% |
| 10 | Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinGermany | 56.6 | 9.4% | 28.9× | 25 | +26.3% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Law and Political Science research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 16% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Law and Political Science.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.