Somewhere, someone is reading Verfassungsblog right now. A judge facing a question she’s never had to answer. A teacher who wants to discuss climate litigation in class tomorrow. A PhD student, at 1 a.m. They come to this shared reading room because the light is on.
It’s getting darker out there, and spaces like this one are shrinking. Academic expertise is losing ground in politics and the media, and there is less room for arguments built on evidence. From Washington to Magdeburg, authoritarian populists want to decide what counts as scholarship: which disciplines, which research gets funded, which results it should deliver. As if analysis were the enemy. What Germany’s authoritarian populists think of the constitution has been a recurring subject here for years. Academic freedom is under attack almost everywhere in the world.
At the worst possible time, because sound analysis has never mattered more: we are watching the rules-based order fall apart, one conflict at a time. And while the world slides into the climate crisis, climate action has to be won in the courts because parliaments keep postponing it. This is exactly when we need analysis from people who know the subject, and policy built on evidence. Yet right now, AI is being rolled out in ways that rarely help solve problems on the basis of evidence. Instead, it floods the debate on these big questions with expert-sounding text, with no informed person and no real insight behind it.
Clear analysis. Common cause. Grounded in fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law, Verfassungsblog works alongside many others standing up for open societies. Join us, and support our work with a donation, ideally every month.
From €5 a month (with no upper limit), you join a club without perks. You get no access that others do not have, no light that shines only for you. But you help make sure that nobody here has to pay. A few times a year, we write to tell you what your contribution has made possible. And of course we would like to get to know you. Every donation helps. Regular donations help us plan and give our work stability. That way, we know what we can count on in the years ahead (no eternity clause required: you can cancel at any time by stopping your payments or sending us a message).
How your donations make a difference
For students, trainee lawyers, and anyone on a tight budget: what good is the finest desk lamp without a bulb? You bring the light.
The lamp on the desk. Add a bulb from the €5 crowd, and we have light. And the Verfassungsblog team rests a lot easier at night.
You light up several desks at once. A powerful boost for our editorial independence – and the certainty that this space stays open.
Your donation is tax-deductible in Germany.
Thank you so much!
732 regular supporters.
We need 1,000.
As of 27 October · one lamp for every ten regular supporters
€6,831 of €120,000Donations since 19 October, one-off and regularOur goal by mid-January is 1,000 regular supporters and €120,000.
That is stage one. For 2027, we anticipate covering €450,000 of our day-to-day operating costs through donations: recurring or one-off gifts from readers, companies, civil society organisations, and foundations. Our transparency page sets out how we are funded. To enter 2028 on a secure footing, we need €750,000 in total.
Along the way, we want to grow the Verfassungsblog community. The more shoulders reliably carry this space, the more we can focus on the work we are here to do. In stage two, our goal is to reach 1,250 regular supporters by summer 2027, and 1,500 by the end of September in stage three.
With your backing, this space stays open.
