CCGES is pleased to host this talk by the 2007 Diefenbaker Award recipient, Dr. Arthur Benz. One of Germany’s most prominent scholars in political science, Dr. Benz’ work focuses on federalism, governance, and policy-making.

Prior to accepting his current positions as the Chair of Political Science at the University of Hagen, Dr. Benz taught at the Universities of Konstanz and Halle-Wittenberg. Between 1990-1991 he worked as a Visiting Researcher at the renowned Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, where he collaborated with Fritz W. Scharpf. Since 1995, he has received several grants to further his research in various fields such as National Parliaments in the European Union (2001-03) and Accountability in Multilevel Governance (with Yannis Papadopoulos, 2004-06).

Dr. Benz’s in-depth analysis of the different national political systems provides insights and exposes the challenges that come with federalism. His extensive research allows him to revisit numerous assumptions and bring new arguments and perspectives on the countries’ governments. Among his publications are Horizontale Politikverflechtung (Horizontal Joint Policy-Making, 1992) with Fritz W. Scharpf and Reinhard Zintl); Der moderne Staat (The Modern State, 2001), Föderalismus (Federalism 2002) edited with Gerhard Lehmbruch, and Governance and Democracy (2006), edited with Yannis Papadopoulos. In several articles, published in Publius, West European Politics or Federal and Regional Studies, he has contributed to empirical and theoretical research on federalism and multilevel governance.

Between November 2003 and December 2004, Dr. Benz participated as an expert in a Joint Commission of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat) preparing the constitutional reform of German federalism which came into force in September 2006.

Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Location: 230 York Lanes