During two weeks in November, I am a visiting researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark. The department of political science is the leading political science department in Denmark and was ranked third best political science department in Europe in 2017 (after the LSE and Oxford University). The department is home to outstanding scholars like welfare state expert Kees van Kersbergen, comparative public policy scholar Christoffer Green-Pedersen, political behavior specialist Rune Slothuus or Helene Helboe Pedersen, expert in political parties. Briefly: It is a great place to discuss research, meet interesting people and work on my own projects in an inspiring context.
During my stay, I am primarily working together with Carsten Jensen on our book “Reforming the Welfare State” (under contract with Routledge) which will present results of the analysis of a new dataset in legislative changes to the welfare state in four European countries which was collected in the WSCEP-project during the last four years. Carsten organized not only a nice flat on campus for my stay but also an office from which I can work. I also participate in research meetings and the very nice lunches with all the other department staff that take place every day in the common lounge which is open to everybody working at the department.
Besides research, I also enjoy being in a very beautiful region of Denmark with the lively city of Aarhus and an incredibly beautiful landscape around. During the week-end, I got to know the most Northern part of Jylland, the small town of Skagen. Not far from there is the place where the two seas– the Skagerrak and the Kattegat – collide. It was a very impressive moment to stay at the top of Denmark and just watching…
Thanks to Carsten Jensen for having me!
Georg Wenzelburger
All photos by GW