Requiem for a dream? academic career opportunities for young political scientists in germany

Abstract

We describe the current career system for young political scientists in Germany academia. The situation is still dominated by the apprenticeship model in which young PhD graduates undertake a second supervised piece of research. Recently introduced junior professorships are still too few and far between to have a major impact and represent only a half-hearted effort. The current system is still unattractive, unproductive, and uncompetitive. A lecturer tenure-track system would shift insecurity to the beginning of a career and would have built-in incentives and resources for young political scientists to engage in high-quality research.