Political religion, autocrats, and peace

Dear LinkedIn community,

With this newsletter we say goodbye for this year, only to return in January with exciting news such as our annual program for 2024. We wish you and your loved ones joyful holidays and a happy new year!

Hitler’s ascent to power constitutes an enduring puzzle: a transition from democracy to autocracy underpinned by popular support. In a column on the policy portal VoxEU by CEPR - Centre for Economic Policy Research , UBS Foundation Professor Hans-Joachim Voth and Sascha O. Becker draw on historical data to explain the Nazi Party’s success can be attributed to its status as a quasi-religious cult, one that emphasized redemption, sacrifice, and communal spirit. Where Christianity arrived late to Germany, the Church never developed deep roots; in this spiritual vacuum, the authors suggest, the Nazi message could flourish.

“Hitler managed to take power thanks to mainstream politicians. We must remember this.” stated democracy expert Daniel Ziblatt in his interview in the Swiss weekly?NZZ am Sonntag?by NZZ , and at the same time a strong appeal for the protection of liberal democracies. In the interview – which was conducted on the occasion of the UBS Center Forum in Zurich – he explains how the rise of autocrats can be prevented.

In the latest edition of our Nobel Opinions series, The Nobel Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei makes a strong case to rebuild international structures of cooperation, conflict prevention, and humanitarian and development aid. His statement "we either swim together, or sink together," has lost none of its importance since his lecture in Zurich.

Congratulations to UBS Foundation Professor David Dorn on being recognized in the global list of 2023 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate . David is featured as one of 86 researchers worldwide in the Business and Economics category. His research on globalization has attracted worldwide attention. While the negative aspects of globalization created many losers, there are also winners. In a recent interview with Swiss weekly?NZZ am Sonntag, Dorn explains why Switzerland had a double benefit from globalization.

In the DACH region – Germany, Austria, and Switzerland – no other university has achieved such a high-caliber research performance in economics over the past ten years as the University of Zurich. This is shown by an exclusive academic ranking compiled for the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche by the KOF Konjunkturforschungsstelle der ETH Zürich . Why is Zurich so successful? Proximity to reality instead of living in an ivory tower, that is the key. Florian Scheuer , Director of the UZH Department of Economics and UBS Foundation Professor sums it up: “As researchers, we have a duty to society.”

We look forward to staying in touch with you and hope to see you very soon at one of our events.

Ernst Fehr (Director) & Hans-Joachim Voth (Scientific Director)

University of Zurich UBS UZH Department of Economics UZH Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics