Prof. Dr. Christian Welzel

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C4.008b
Fon +49.4131.677-2453, christian.welzel@leuphana.de
Professor*in, Professorship of Research of Political Culture
Center for the Study of Democracy
Institute of Political Sciences

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Vita

Prof. Dr. Christian Welzel is Professor of Research of Political Culture at the Institute of Political Science and head of the Center for the Study of Democracy at Leuphana University. He is President (emer.) and Vice-President of the World Values Survey Association (Stockholm, Sweden) and Fellow of the German Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina”. His research focus is on democratic theory, sociocultural evolution, development and empowerment, democratization, value formation, cultural change, protest participation and neighboring topics. He is in the top 3 of the best political scientists in Germany and is highly ranked worldwide in the areas of comparative politics (#20) and political psychology/public opinion (#10) as well as democratization (#5).

  • Since 2010: Professor of Research of Political Culture at the Institute of Political Science and the Center for Democracy Studies, Leuphana University Lüneburg
  • 2010-2020: Director, National Research University - Higher School of Economics (Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia)
  • 2010-2020: Adjunct Professor, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
  • 2006-2010: Full Professor of Political Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
  • 2006-2010: Field Coordinator, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), Germany
  • 2009: Humboldt-Fellow, Center for the Study of Democracy (UC Irvine, USA)
  • 2009: POSCO Fellow at the East West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA
  • 2007: Visiting Professor, Center for the Study of Democracy (UC Irvine, USA)
  • 2006: Visiting Professor at the Center for the Study of Democracy (UC Irvine, USA)
  • 2004-2006: Program Coordinator, Integrated Social Science undergraduate and graduate program, Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany)
  • 2002-2005: Associate Professor of Political Science, Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany)
  • 2001: Visiting Professor, Universität Potsdam, Germany
  • 2000: Habilitation (“Higher Doctorate”) in Political Science, Free University Berlin, Germany
  • 1997-2000: Senior research fellow in the department “Institutions and Social Change” of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (Germany)
  • 1996: Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Potsdam (Distinction)
  • 1993-1996: Research fellow and lecturer in German politics, University of Potsdam (Germany)
  • 1992: Research fellow and lecturer in German and Comparative Politics, University of Mainz (Germany)
  • 1991: Ph.D. student in political science, University of the Saarland (Saarbruecken, Germany)
  • 1991, M.A. in Political Science and Economic History, University of the Saarland (Germany)
  • 1990: Research assistant in the Department of Political Science at Saarland University, Saarbrücken/Germany

Awards, Grants, Fellowships (Selection)

  • 2022: Member, Academy of Sciences Goettingen
  • 2018: Academic Honors Medal by the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow, Russia, for exceptional contributions to academic development and international cooperation
  • 2017: Reinhart Koselleck Grant by the German Science Foundation (DFG: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for the proposal “The Cool Water Effect: The Roots of Western Civilization’s Emancipatory Dynamic”
  • 2015: Member, German Academy of Sciences ("Leopoldina")
  • 2014: Stein Rokkan Prize 2014 in Comparative Social Science for the CUP monograph Freedom Rising (ECPR – European Consortium of Political Research, ISSC - International Social Science Council, University of Bergen)
  • 2014: Alexander L. George Award 2014 for Freedom Rising as the best book of the year published in political psychology (ISPP – International Society for Political Psychology)

Memberships in Science Foundations

  • Austrian Science Foundation (FWF)
  • European Commission
  • Estonian Science Foundation
  • German Science Foundation (DFG)
  • Israeli Science Foundation
  • National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Swiss National Fund (SNF)

Board Memberships (Selection)

  • Consulting editor, Political Behavior
  • Consulting editor, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • Consultant, GfK’s (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung) study on value change
  • Advisor, expert group of the EU Commission on value orientations towards science and technology
  • Member, executive committee of the World Values Surveys Association
  • Member, academic council, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences
  • Member, advisory committee, „Mehr Demokratie Wagen e.V.“
  • Advisor, World Bank, World Development Report 2013, Washington DC
  • Expert, Future Dialogue of the Chancellor, Berlin

Projects

  1. Trust in European Democracies - WP4: Democratic systems and national cultures: transition and interplay of values
    Christian Peter Welzel (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

  2. The Cool Water Effect: Why Human Civilization Turned towards Emancipation in Cold-Wet Regions
    Christian Peter Welzel (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

  3. Phd Program Democracy under Stress (DUS)
    Ferdinand Müller-Rommel (Project manager, academic) , Christian Peter Welzel (Coordination)
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    Project: Other

  4. The Gender-Governance Link: Gender equality and public goods provision
    Christian Peter Welzel (Project manager, academic) , Amy Alexander (Partner) , Stephan Klasen (Partner)
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    Project: Research

  5. Value Orientations and Cooperation: Exploring the Value-Behavior Link
    Christian Peter Welzel (Project manager, academic) , Christian Thöni (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

View all projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. The Cool Water Effect: The Geo-Climatic Source of Western Exceptionalism
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Stefan Kruse (Author) , Lennart Joe Brunkert (Author) , Steven A. Brieger (Author) , 2025 Cham , 483 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research › peer-review

  2. The Cool Water Effect: The Origin of Humankind's Emancipatory Turn
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Stefan Kruse (Author) , Lennart Joe Brunkert (Author) , Steven A. Brieger (Author) , 2023 , 390 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

  3. Democratization
    Christian Peter Welzel (Editor) , Patrick Bernhagen (Editor) , Christian W. Haerpfer (Editor) , Ronald Inglehart (Editor) , 2019 2 ed. Oxford , 520 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  4. Democratization
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Christian W. Haerpfer (Author) , Patrick Bernhagen (Author) , Ronald Inglehart (Author) , 2018 2 ed. Oxford , 520 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  5. The Civic Culture Transformed: From Allegiant to Assertive Citizens
    Christian Peter Welzel (Editor) , Russell Dalton (Editor) , 2015 New York , 355 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

View all publications

Journal contributions

  1. Shifts in emancipative values during times of crises: Longitudinal evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    Viyaleta Korsunava (Author) , Boris Sokolov (Author) , Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , 01.03.2026 , in: Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 1 , 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. The nature and utility of cultural tightness–looseness: evidence for reconsideration
    Michael Minkov (Author) , Plamen Akaliyski (Author) , Anneli Kaasa (Author) , Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Journal of International Business Studies, 56, 9 , p. 1197-1206 , 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. Rethinking Measurement Equivalence in Comparative Political Research
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Kirill Zhirkov (Author) , 01.09.2024 , in: Political Research Quarterly, 77, 3 , p. 696-712 , 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. The Values in Crisis Project: A Three-Wave Panel Study in Germany and the United Kingdom
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Klaus Boehnke (Author) , Jan Delhey (Author) , Franziska Deutsch (Author) , Jan Eichhorn (Author) , Ulrich Kühnen (Author) , Georgi Dragolov (Author) , Stephanie Hess (Author) , Mandi Larsen (Author) , 02.04.2024 , in: Journal of Open Psychology Data, 12, 1 , 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Comparative Culturology and Cross-Cultural Psychology: How Comparing Societal Cultures Differs From Comparing Individuals’ Minds Across Cultures
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Michael Minkov (Author) , Vivian L. Vignoles (Author) , Plamen Akaliyski (Author) , Michael Harris Bond (Author) , Anneli Kaasa (Author) , Peter B. Smith (Author) , 01.03.2024 , in: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 55, 2 , p. 164-188 , 25 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Harmonization in the World Values Survey
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Kseniya Kizilova (Author) , Jaime Diez-Medrano (Author) , Christian Haerpfer (Author) , 01.01.2024 1 ed. New York , p. 39-56 , 18 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  2. Recht und Kultur
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , Christoph Jamme (✝) (Author) , Susanne Angela Leeb (Contributor) , Ino Ausberg (Author) , Franz Reimer (Author) , 01.01.2022 Baden-Baden , p. 39-62 , 24 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research

  3. A Cultural Theory of Autocracy-vs-Democracy: On the Psychological Foundations of Political Regimes
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , 01.01.2022 , p. 458-475 , 18 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  4. THE CULTURAL PRE-REQUISITES OF DEMOCRACY
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , 06.08.2020 Oxford , p. 76-94 , 19 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  5. Implementation of EU labour law directives by way of national collective agreements
    Christian Peter Welzel (Author) , 01.01.2020 Baden , p. 283-302 , 20 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research

View all publications

Activities

  1. Cultural Evolution and Subjective Wellbeing: Rising Individualism Rewires Happiness from Religion to Subjective Freedom
    Christian Peter Welzel (Speaker)

    Activity: Guest lectures › Research

  2. Declining Trust in Institutions: Why We Should Not Worry
    Christian Peter Welzel (Speaker)

    Activity: Guest lectures › Research

  3. The Paradox of Democracy: Why Mass Support for Democracy Co-exists So Easily with Non-Democracy
    Christian Peter Welzel (Speaker)

    Activity: Guest lectures › Research

  4. Freedom Rising: Human Empowerment and the Quest for Emancipation
    Christian Peter Welzel (Oral presentation)

    Activity: Guest lectures › Research

  5. Stein Rokkan Award Ceremony: Freedom Rising: Human Empowerment and the Quest for Emancipation
    Christian Peter Welzel (Oral presentation)

    Activity: Guest lectures › Research

View all activities

Press / Media

Prizes

  1. Academic Honors Medal by the National Research University - Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia
    Christian Peter Welzel (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  2. Leuphana Forschungspreis 2018
    Christian Peter Welzel (Recipient) ,

    Prize: Leuphana internal Prize, Scholaships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  3. Best Scholar of the Year Citation Award 2017
    Christian Peter Welzel (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  4. Reinhart Koselleck Förderung durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
    Christian Peter Welzel (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  5. Golden Reference Award by the National Research University - Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia
    Christian Peter Welzel (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

View all prizes

Courses