Dr. rer. pol. Oliver Schwarz
News
31 November 2025 EU Enlargement Policy
At the invitation of the SOG Duisburg branch, Dr Michael A. Rupp (DG ENEST, European Commission) will give a guest lecture on 4 December entitled "Current developments in EU enlargement policy: perspectives from the European Commission". The event will take place on site at the Duisburg campus in German. No prior registration is required. The flyer for the joint event with the Institute of Political Science can be found here.
12 November 2025 Bosnia and Herzegovina in Focus
At the invitation of the SOG Duisburg branch, Felix Weise will give a guest lecture on 11 December entitled "Bosnia and Herzegovina in Focus: Economy and Finance between Fragmentation and Reform." Felix Weise is an IBEP student at the Institute of Political Science (IfP) and is currently completing an internship at the foreign office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in Sarajevo. At the beginning of the event, Senada Bratić, Public Relations Officer of the KAS, will provide an introduction to the foundation's work in the region. The event will be held in German via Zoom and prior registration is required. You can find the flyer for this joint event with the IfP here.
27 October 2025 New Publication
Michael Kaeding, Manuel Müller and Alexander Hoppe (eds.)
Die Europawahl 2024
Wiesbaden: Springer VS
ISBN 978-3-031-96048-2 
The edited volume analyses key developments and trends surrounding the 2024 European Parliament elections. In one of the chapters, Oliver Schwarz focuses on the theme of an expanding Union. Based on the FPS method, he simulates how the balance of power in the European Parliament would change with the accession of ten additional member states and illustrates the political dynamics that could shape an EU-37.
20 October 2025 Office Hours
Oliver Schwarz's office hours for the lecture period in the winter semester 2025/26 are now fixed and can be booked as usual via the DFN appointment planner. All appointments will take place via Zoom.
15 October 2025 From Reactive to Preventive?
At the invitation of the SOG branch in Duisburg, Tereza Marošková will give a guest lecture on "From Reactive to Preventive? Conflict Conditionality in the Western Balkans" on 10 November. Tereza Marošková is a PhD candidate at Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic). The lecture will be held online via Zoom and conducted in English. Prior registration is required to participate. The flyer for the joint event with the Institute of Political Science can be found here.
1 October 2025 Study Start 2025
The Faculty of Social Sciences will kick off this year'’s Study Start on 13 October 2025. On this day, Oliver Schwarz and Jürgen Bäumer will welcome the first-semester students at the Institute of Political Science. Further information about the programme and its contents can be found on the dedicated Study Start webpage.
1 September 2025 Campus Day Duisburg
The Campus Day Duisburg will take place on 18 September, when the University of Duisburg-Essen will open its doors to interested school pupils. Oliver Schwarz and his colleague Alexander Hoppe will also be present to introduce the project NRW Debates Europe.
12 August 2025 UB|Writing Camp
Oliver Schwarz will once again be taking part in the UB|Writing Camp, which is scheduled to take place from 1 to 5 September at the Duisburg Campus. As in previous years, the programme is entirely devoted to academic writing. The workshop offered by Oliver Schwarz, "MAXQDA for Beginners: Analysing Data Qualitatively", will be held on 16 August. Registration is now open.
11 August 2025 Office Hours
Oliver Schwarz’s office hours for the summer semester 2025 lecture-free period have now been published and may be booked as usual via the DFN scheduler. All appointments will take place on Zoom.
28 July 2025 New Publication
Michael Kaeding, Manuel Müller and Alexander Hoppe (eds.)
The 2024 European Parliament Elections
Wiesbaden: Springer VS
ISBN 978-3-031-89454-1
The edited volume analyses key developments and trends surrounding the 2024 European Parliament elections. In one of the chapters, Oliver Schwarz focuses on the theme of an expanding Union. Based on the FPS method, he simulates how the balance of power in the European Parliament would change with the accession of ten additional member states and illustrates the political dynamics that could shape an EU-37.
7 July 2025 New Publication
European Journal of Risk Regulation
Russia’s War Against Ukraine: A Geopolitical Turning Point for EU Enlargement?
DOI: 10.1017/err.2025.21
The article examines whether Russia's war against Ukraine represents a geopolitical turning point for the EU’s enlargement policy. Based on historical institutionalist approaches as well as quantitative and bibliometric analyses, it shows that while the EU increasingly takes geopolitical factors into account, this does not yet constitute a complete break with its normative orientation.
30 June 2025 Graduation Ceremony
This year's graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Social Sciences will be held on 9 July in the old Audimax LA at the Duisburg Campus. Together with his colleague Marion Steinkamp, Oliver Schwarz will guide the audience through the programme.
27 May 2025 Why we document
At the invitation of the SOG Duisburg branch, Dr. Atdhe Hetemi will give a guest lecture on 16 June on the topic of "Why We Document: Reflections on Kosovo's Path to Justice". Atdhe Hetemi is Executive Director of the Institute for War Crimes Committed During the Kosovo War. The lecture will be delivered in English in person. Prior registration is not necessary to participate. The flyer for the joint event with the Institute of Political Science can be found here.
9 May 2025 Democracy from the bottom up
At the invitation of the SOG Duisburg branch, Dejan Mihajlović will give a guest lecture on 11 June on the topic of "Democracy from below: How Serbian students mobilise against corruption and abuse of power". Dejan Mihajlović is a consultant for student co-responsibility, democracy education, digital transformation and barcamps at the Centre for School Quality and Teacher Education Baden-Württemberg. The lecture will take place online via Zoom in German. Prior registration for participation is required. The flyer for the joint event with the Institute of Political Science can be found here.
9 May 2025 Public Support for EU Enlargement
At the invitation of the SOG Duisburg branch, Dr Dmytro Panchuk will give a guest lecture on "Public support for EU enlargement in the context of Russia's war on Ukraine" on 4 June. Dmytro Panchuk is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of Public Governance and Management at Ghent University. The lecture will take place online via Zoom in English. Prior registration for participation is required. The flyer for the joint event with the Institute of Political Science can be found here.
2 May 2025 InvigoratEU Mid-Term Conference
From 12 to 14 May, Oliver Schwarz will take part in the mid-term conference of the Horizon Europe project "Invigorating Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy for a Resilient Europe" (InvigoratEU) in Brussels. InvigoratEU is a consortium consisting of 18 partners from all over Europe. The project is coordinated by Prof Dr Michael Kaeding from the University of Duisburg-Essen. Prof Dr Funda Tekin from the IEP is the scientific director of the project. Further information on the project and the midterm conference can be found here.
21 July 2024 Consultation Hours
Oliver Schwarz's consultation hours for the lecture-free period of the summer semester 2025 are now fixed. All appointments are organised via DFN scheduler and take place exclusively via Zoom.
7 April 2025 Consultation Hours
With the start of the lecture period in the summer semester, Oliver Schwarz's consultation hours will take place weekly on tuesdays from 10 and 11 am. Appointments can be made now via DFN scheduler. All appointments will take place via Zoom.
18 February 2025 New Publication
Sonja Priebus and Timm Beichelt (eds.)
Die politischen Systeme im östlichen Europa
Wiesbaden: Springer VS
ISBN 978-3-658-43646-9
The book offers a comparative overview of the political systems of the states of Eastern Europe. In one of the 22 country chapters, Oliver Schwarz presents an analysis of the political system of North Macedonia. The text highlights key milestones as well as decisive critical junctures.
13 February 2025 Federal Election 2025
On 18 February, Oliver Schwarz visits the pupils in class 3a at GGS Mozartstraße. Together they talk about the Bundestag election process before the children cast their votes in a first trial election. The characters from the Sendung mit der Maus compete against each other as candidates. Who will win?
10 February 2024 SOG Annual Meeting
The annual conference of the Southeast Europe Association (SOG) will take place from 27 February to 1 March. This will take place in Leipzig in 2025. After the first committee meetings on Thursday, the symposium of the Academic Advisory Board on the topic "Invisible, not at all! New perspectives on 'guest workers' from South-East Europe" and the subsequent general meeting are on the agenda. Finally, the actual Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday. Further information on the SOG annual conference can be found here.
6 February 2025 Who is standing for election?
29 parties are standing for election to the German Bundestag on 23 February. The Federal Agency for Civic Education presents them in short portraits. Oliver Schwarz has created the portrait of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). This portrait can be found together with the others here.
3 February 2025 UB|SchreibCamp
Oliver Schwarz is taking part in this year's UB|SchreibCamp, which will take place from 17 to 21 February on the Essen campus. As in previous years, the programme is focused entirely on academic writing. The workshop "Show me your literature! Bibliometric analysis with the VOSviewer" offered by Oliver Schwarz will take place on 17 February. Registration is now open.
31 January 2025 Consultation Hours
The consultation hours of Oliver Schwarz for the lecture-free period in the winter semester 2024/25 are now scheduled and can be booked as usual via DFN scheduler. All appointments will take place via Zoom.
13 January 2025 Geopolitical Tensions in the Balkans?
At the invitation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Oliver Schwarz will take part in the online event "Geopolitical Tensions in the Balkans? The parliamentary election 2025 in Kosovo". The event starts at 6 pm. Participation is free of charge, but the number of participants is limited. Registrations are possible until 12 noon on the day of the event and will be considered in the order in which they are received. Further information can be found here.