Born in 1943, Dirk Berg-Schlosser is currently professor and director of the Institute of Political Science, Philipps University, Marburg/Germany. He has done research and taught at the universities of Munich, Aachen, Augsburg, Eichstaett, Nairobi, Stellenbosch/South Africa, Berkeley and Marburg. From 1988 to 2000 he has been chairman of the Research Committee on "Democratization in Comparative Perspective" of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). His research interests include political culture, empirical democratic theory, Third World studies, comparative politics, comparative methodology.

Recent major publications are: Political Stability and Development (with Rainer Siegler), Political Culture in Germany (with Ralf Rytlewski), Literaturfuehrer Politikwissenschaft (with Sven Quenter), Empirische Demokratieforschung, Perspektiven der Demokratie (with H.J.Giegel), Armut und Demokratie (with Norbert Kersting), Conditions of Democracy in Europe 1919-39 (with Jeremy Mitchell), Perspectives of Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe (with Raivo Vetik).