| July 8, 1942 | born in Berlin |
| 1961/62 | studies of economics, sociology and law, University of Hamburg |
| 1962-1968 | studies of political science (major), German literature and modern history; University of Tübingen, Free University Berlin |
| 1969 | "Staatsexamen für das Lehramt an höheren Schulen" (M.A. equivalent) |
| 1970 | Ph.D. in political science, University of Tübingen |
| 1969-1977 | Assistant professor of political science, Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Tübingen |
| 1970/1971 | Research Associate at the Harvard Russian Research Center, Harvard University, Cambridge/Mass. |
| 1976 | "Habilitation" in political science, University of Tübingen |
| 1979-1981 | Director of the Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen |
| 1984 (fall) | Volkswagen Foundation Visiting Professor, Columbia University, New York, Dept. of Political Science/Institute of East Central Europe |
| 1986-1991 | Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Research on German/GDR Studies, Universities of Tübingen and Jena |
| 1991 | Visiting professor, Graduate School for International Studies, Denver |
| 1991/1992 | Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Tübingen |
| 1994/95 | Director, Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen |
| 1994, 1997 | Visiting Professor St. Petersburg and Moscow State University (MGU) |
| 1995 (fall) | Visiting Professor, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle |
| 2000 | Director, Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen |
| 2001 | International Erich-Fromm-Prize; Gold Medal University of Wroclaw, Poland;
Visiting Professor Collegium Civitas University, Warsaw |
| 2002 | Visiting Professor Moscow State University (MGU) |
| 2003 | Visiting Professor Central European University, Budapest |
| 2003/2004 | Director, Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen |
| 2006 | "Pro Hungarica Cultura" Award of the National Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Hungary
Medal of the University of Warsaw for exceptional merits in the scientific cooperation between the Institutes of Political Science of the universities of Tuebingen and Warsaw |
| 2007 | Professor emeritus since October 1, 2007 |
| 2008 | Doctor honoris causa, University of Warsaw, Poland |
