Research
Research is the principal scientific activity of the ZDA. Five thematic priorities are central, touching across the three departments on key areas of political science, legal and educational science research concerning democracy. The goal is to build up within each one of the five Research Focuses an internationally recognized research capacity, whose results are nourishing academic teaching and training and used for public events.
The priorities are broken down into topics that include disciplinary and / or thematically specialized groups of already approved, pending or still to be submitted research projects that are supervised by experienced scientists and researchers from the departments involved. There is close cooperation with the national research programme "Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century" (Website NCCR Democracy).
Research on democracy is practised at the ZDA in close contact with researchers from around the world who join our team in Aarau for a short or long period self financed visitors stay.
Research Focuses
Research Focus 1: Challenges for DemocracyResearch Focus 2: Institutions and Practice of Direct Democracy
Research Focus 3: Democratic Innovation
Research Focus 4: Civic Education in Democratic Societies
Research Focus 5: History and Theory of Democracy