Book Discussion | Alex Reisenbichler (Toronto) | Through the Roof: Housing, Capitalism, and the State in America and Germany

Event Flyer

The Leibniz ScienceCampus is pleased to welcome Alexander Reisenbichler, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, as a Visiting Fellow at the ScienceCampus from 7 June to 7 July 2025.

On 24 June at 18:15, he will present his new book Through the Roof: Housing, Capitalism, and the State in America and Germany (Cambridge University Press, 2025) in conversation with Anna Steigemann, Professor of Sociological Dimensions of Space at DIMAS. Combining insights from political science, economics, history, and sociology, his book offers a rich, interdisciplinary perspective on the politics of housing. It also provides the first English-language account of German housing policy from the early 20th century to the present. The event also takes place in cooperation with the IRE|BS - International Real Estate Business School and the Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies | DIMAS. It offers an opporunity for the audience to discuss one of the key issues of our time, housing policy in its current and historical dimensions.

We look forward to welcoming interested participants from urban planning and municipal administration, politics, civil society and academia, including students and researchers. Registration is not required.

Book Description:

Housing is the defining issue of our time, driving a persistent affordability crisis, financial instability, and economic inequality. Through the Roof examines the crucial role of the state in shaping the housing markets of two economic powerhouses-the United States and Germany. The book starts with a puzzle: laissez-faire America has vigorously supported homeownership markets with generous government programs, while social democratic Germany has slashed policy support for both homeownership and rental markets. The book explains why both nations have adopted such radically different and unexpected housing policy approaches. Drawing on extensive archival material and interviews with policymakers, it argues that contrasting forms of capitalism-demand-led in the United States and export-oriented in Germany-resulted in divergent housing policies. In both countries, these policies have subsequently transformed capitalism itself.

Bio:

Alexander Reisenbichler is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, where he also serves as the M.A. Programme Director and Research Coordinator for the Joint Initiative in German and European Studies (JIGES) at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. His research focuses on the political economy of housing, financial, and labor markets in advanced economies, with a regional emphasis on Western Europe and the United States. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from George Washington University. Reisenbichler was a John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at Harvard University's Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies during the 2021–2022 academic year. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the APSA Best Paper Award from the European Politics & Society Section, and research grants from institutions such as the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy and the DAAD. From 7 June to 7 July 2025 he will join the ScienceCampus as a Visiting Fellow.