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Philosophy thrives on debate, namely justified differences of opinion on assertions, views and theories. The argumentative nature of philosophy also characterises the idea behind this series of publications: it presents critical appraisals of important new studies from the field of philosophy and those related to it by renowned experts in direct discussion with their authors. A short introduction by the author opens each debate, which is then followed by the critics’ essays. Subsequently, the author responds in detail to the arguments put forward in the essays. The series is interdisciplinary and is not dedicated to any particular school of thought; the works published in it are chosen according to their originality and the relevance of their subjects.

In our times of globalisation, academic research is increasingly focusing on subjects such as migration and integration. Several thousands of people flee their home countries every day, many of whom feel forced to do so for economic reasons. Migrants and their descendants are now part and parcel of life in the countries that take them in, as many of them have settled permanently in their adopted homes. These immigrants will affect the future of these countries and also often of their countries of origin, among other things by participating in fields such as education, employment, sport and culture. The series of publications discusses all the issues relevant to research on migration and immigration and welcomes studies from all disciplines. Among other things, it is committed to publishing studies that endeavour to understand the causes and effects of migration and border demarcation better by using theoretical or empirical approaches, which are either quality or quantity-oriented. The series therefore contributes to an understanding and the promotion of the process of integration in all its possible dimensions. It considers migration and integration not only on an individual migrant level, but also from the point of view of relevant organisations and the state with its particular geographical, political, economic and cultural characteristics, a knowledge of which is necessary to be able to fully comprehend the global process of migration and integration. In this way, the series not only provides basic knowledge on migration and integration, but also offers guidance to decision makers in politics and society as well as to an interested public.

During the more recent past much has happened on the African continent regarding democratic reform, good governance, human rights protection and the rule of law. On the way to more societal, political and legal stability various countries in Africa are still entangled in processes of legal and institutional reform, especially in the areas of constitutional law, the law relating to the organisation of the state, electoral law, laws regulating political parties, criminal law, criminal procedure, civil law, civil procedure, administrative law and administrative procedure. In order to accommodate the development in other African countries, the scope of the renowned legal series “Law and Constitution in South Africa” has been geographically expanded. Under the new title “Law and Constitution in Africa” the series offers a platform enhancing the comparative law discourse between Africa and Europe. This not only promotes good international relations but shall also contribute to a better mutual understanding and the intellectual exchange between law faculties on both continents. It is expected to foster and propel on-going and future legal and judicial reform processes. The series’ focus lies on high quality postgraduate, doctoral, postdoctoral dissertations and other scientific work in English and German language relevant to the areas of public, private and economic law.

Analysing economic phenomena from a sociological perspective poses a number of transdisciplinary challenges which are both highly topical and relevant. This means that the complementary research fields of economic sociology and political economics are among the most dynamic areas of the social sciences in both theoretical and empirical terms. Economic sociology offers analytical perspectives on the logic of economic activity and the way it is embedded into social structures, which are arranged in a continuum of market relations, networks, organisational hierarchies and other coordinating bodies. Research papers from this field therefore deal with a vast array of subjects, ranging from entrepreneurship, innovation and organisation in the workplace to monetary economics and financial markets. Political economics complements and supplements economic sociology’s focus on action by taking institutional interaction between economic and political systems into consideration and by treating the state’s involvement in the organisation of economic processes as particularly significant. In this respect, the issue of variations in capitalist market economies in the context of globalisation assumes a central role. The series of publications entitled “Wirtschaftssoziologie und Politische Ökonomie” (Economic Sociology and Political Economics) therefore provides a forum for theoretical and empirical works from these research areas with no thematic restrictions.