What is the Civil Clause?
The Civil Clause is a self-imposed ethical commitment by universities and other institutions to prohibit teaching, research, development, and transfer from being used for military goals and purposes. The Civil Clause is not a law, but a voluntary form of limiting acadmic activities for ethical-moral reasons. The Civil Clause in Kassel can be traced back to an initiative by the student body and has been part of the University of Kassel (opens in a new tab)’s Basic Order since 2013. The current wording there is:
“The University of Kassel supports the promotion and development of sciences and the arts and seeks to realize the right to education through research, artistic creation, teaching, studying, and further education in a free, democratic, and social state governed by the rule of law. Research and development, teaching and studying at the University of Kassel are committed exclusively to peaceful ends and shall fulfill civilian goals; research, in particular the development and optimization of technological systems, as well as studying and teaching are oriented to civilian use.”
If a research project breaches the Civil Clause, no further university funds will be made available to the participating researchers.
Why is there so much discussion of the Civil Clause at the moment?
There is currently much debate in the Senate of the University of Kassel over a change to the so-called Civil Clause. In order to make a change to the Basic Order, the Senate must vote in favor of the planned change twice. A first vote took place in the Senate in June 2026, with the majority voting for the change. The second vote was initially set for the beginning of July. After protests it was postponed to November 4, 2026. This postponement was meant to create space for an open discussion within the university at large about the changes and other possibilities for forming opinions.
Why is the process being criticized?
There are important substantive reasons to retain the Civil Clause. We present these reasons (opens in a new tab) in further detail here on this website. In addition, previous actions regarding efforts to alter the Civil Clause have been criticized as undemocratic. While individual members of the Senate have argued for abolishing the Civil Clause, pressure to abolish it has also come from political forces outside the university (national, local, and community politics as well as the arms industry). Over many months, plans to alter the Basic Order have been discussed only internally in the Senate. Only a few weeks before the planned final vote was the reformulation of the Civil Clause publicly shared with the university. In effect, no time remained for any wide-ranging discussion, not even between the elected members of the Senate and those who had elected them (professors, staff, and students).
Why shouldn’t the Senate just vote on changing the Basic Order?
The Senate is democratically elected, but represents the position of those within the university community only to a limited degree. Although the committee does allow for democratic participation by almost all status groups at the university (students, staff, professors), it is is based on group representation and not on majority vote. This means that the members representing professors occupy 17 Senate seats, although they constitute the smallest status group by far.
The current figures (opens in a new tab) on status groups and their representation in the Senate at the University of Kassel:
- 319 regular professors have 9 representatives in the Senate
- 1,386 administrative-technical employees (ATM) have 2 representatives
- 1,643 research or artistic associates have 3 representatives
- 21,131 students have 3 representatives
Democracy thrives on discussion, only in this way can a broad spectrum of opinion be ensured. A change to the Basic Order cannot simply be discussed by the 17 members of the Senate and the Presidential Board and quietly decided. Broader involvement and participation by all status groups is necessary. Students can participate in a campus-wide vote on whether to retain the Civil Clause and staff and professors can sign our petition for a strong Civil Clause.
What is the exact wording of the reformulation of the Civil Clause being discussed in the Senate?
The members of the Senate have discussed reformulating the Civil Clause in several meetings. The version that was voted on favorably in the Senate’s first ballot in June 2026 reads:
“The University of Kassel is committed in its research, teaching, and technological transfer to protecting peace, preventing war, and strengthening democracy. Researchers and teachers are conscious of the problematic of delineating between the civilian and potential military uses of their activities. They act under the responsibility to contribute to the peaceful coexistence of all people. The University of Kassel supports them in this effort through an orderly process.”
Why is the reformulation of the Civil Clause in effect its abolition?
In contrast to the existing formulation, the new proposal weakens the ethical orientation of research, teaching, and technology transfer. These are no longer exclusively committed to civilian ends, but can also encompass military goals if the argument is made that their goal is to protect peace. The reformulated clause is thus no longer a Civil Clause (opens in a new tab). Furthermore, the reference to a presumable consciousness of the problem of delineating betweem civilian and “potential military use” introduces an unclear and indeterminate dimension that does not result in any call to action. The fact that someone is “conscious” of something does not lead to any action. The previous formulation, on the other hand, is clear in its orientation to civilian ends.
Are there democratic possibilities to take part in shaping the process?
Yes. Outside the Senate as well, students, staff, and professors can organize themselves and express their positions. You can sign here to support the retention of a strong Civil Clause.
The student initiative Zivilklausel bleibt! [Civil Clause stays!] was initiated by a student plenary on June 24, 2026 with around 700 students demanding student participation in the process of forming opinion. Representatives from the Senate also faced criticism there. The students at the plenary voted in favor of a campus-wide vote on the question of the Civil Clause. This is meant to give all students the opportunity to take part in the decision.
On June 30, 2026 the Staff Council also organized a special staff meeting on the topic of Basic Order/Civil Clause. Despite the short notice of the announcement, around 120 staff members came to discuss the matter, and the Senate representatives for staff explained their respective positions. The slides from the opening presentation (opens in a new tab) can be found on the Staff Council’s website. The staff meeting showed that the staff had a strong desire for further exchange on the matter. The GEW operating group (opens in a new tab) has also published its statement on the Civil Clause online.
Hasn’t the Senate already decided on the reformulation?
No. On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, a second and final vote about the reformulation of the Civil Clause was supposed to be held in the Senate. Around 100 students and staff demonstrated in front of the Senatssaal during the hours-long meeting. Approximately 30 students and staff also applied for speaking time in the Senate as guests. Both the guests and the representatives of students and staff in the Senate expressed criticism of the reformulation and of the process behind its formation. They called on the Senate to postpone the further course of deciding on the Civil Clause to winter 2026 in order to facilitate a university-wide discussion process at the beginning of the semester. The majority of Senate members voted in favor of this proposal. The next vote is scheduled for November 4, 2026 (for reports in the press, see HNA (opens in a new tab), Hessenschau (opens in a new tab)). In the meantime the Presdential Board will provide space for discussion among the university public. Two of the events conceived by the Presidential Board are scheduled for October 13 and 14, 2026 (opens in a new tab), both of which will take place from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the Central Mensa on the Campus Holländischer Platz.
Can the Civil Clause (still) be improved?
Yes. The power of the clause that has been in effect since 2013 lies in the fact that research, teaching, and development are “committed exclusively to peaceful ends” and are meant to “fulfill civilian goals.” There is, however, a justifiable criticism that in the existing version it remains unclear how and by whom disputed research projects are to be assessed and what criteria can be drawn on to do so. The reformulation, however, does not resolve this problem either. It merely prescribes an “orderly process” without further detail. Its statements do not provide any clear guidelines (opens in a new tab) to orient an ethics commission.
The Civil Clause that has been in force since 2013 also lacks any reference to “transfer”—that is, to the integration of research, development, teaching into society. For this reason, the student initiative Zivilklausel bleibt and the staff initiative Zivile Uni Kassel call on the Senate to expand the existing clause to include the aspect of transfer and to develop a binding procedure for disputed projects.
Is the University of Kassel the only university with a Civil Clause?
No. Currently there are around 70 universities and research institutions in Germany with civil clauses. In the past 20 years an ever increasing number of universities in the country have passed such a self-imposed ethical commitment. These civil clauses are formulated to different degrees of strength. What they all have in common is the aspiration that academic teaching, research, development, and transfer should not be used for military goals and purposes. The political pressure against this form of self-imposed ethical commitment is not only to be found in North Hesse. Everywhere in Germany there are political and economic actors putting pressure on academic institutions and thus encroaching on university autonomy. In contrast to the University of Kassel, the other Hessian universities with civil clauses see no reason (opens in a new tab) to discuss abolishing or weakening the clauses.
In the state of Bremen, there have also been attempts to abolish the Civil Clause enshrined in that state’s higher education act. The arguments used against it were similar to those now being used in Kassel. The local parliament, however, backed the existing Civil Clause (opens in a new tab).
Does the University of Kassel’s Civil Clause stand in opposition to defense capabilities?
Many people in Germany have justifiable concerns due to the increasingly militarized conflicts in the world. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has once again shown that wars can also take place in Europe. But too often the question of defense capabilities is confused with the goal of combat readiness. While the former is necessary, the latter leads to even more violence, destruction, and misery. NATO has an annual arms budget eight times that of Russia (opens in a new tab). Even without the USA, arms expenditures in the European states clearly exceed those of Russia. The Civil Clause means learning from history, that the attempt to solve conflicts among the great powers by military means leads to catastrophic (world) wars. In times of militarization a strong Civil Clause (opens in a new tab) guarantees the independence of research and teaching that uses civilian methods to contribute to defense and human security.
Does the Civil Clause impede investment and job creation in the region?
Numerous manufacturing companies in the region have observed a deep economic crisis that has stoked fear and anger (opens in a new tab) in many. By contrast, the arms industry is experiencing a historic boom due to gigantic public investment. There are plans to massively expand its capacities in Kassel and the surroundings in the coming years, with or without a Civil Clause. For corporations such as KNDS the weakening or abolition of the Civil Clause is “extremely important” above all due to the high demand for staff and leadership in technology. (opens in a new tab) But even now, graduates of the University of Kassel already work in these companies, and will continue to be employed there due to the high demand for staff. Even a strong Civil Clause does nothing to alter that.
The large number of jobs in the arms industry at the moment is due, at least in part, to the fact that the German state will spend more than 600 billion euros (opens in a new tab) on defense in the coming years. By 2030 evey third euro of the national budget will flow into defense. These investments not only contradict the goals of sustainable development, they also make little economic sense. For investments in military expenditures create significantly less additional economic activity than, for instance, public investment in education, infrastructure, or childcare (opens in a new tab).
Does abolishing the Civil Clause mean that students may go elsewhere?
The University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen [THM] will offer dual study programs in Kassel next year (opens in a new tab). It is anticipated that this will also result in cooperations with the arms manufacturers located in the area. The expansion of the THM into Kassel has been decided—with or without the Civil Clause. At the university itself there are no dual study programs (with the exception of the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences). There are academic study programs combined with practical phases in companies [StiP – Studieren im Praxisverbund]. The reasons for this are the differences between colleges [Hochschulen] and universities. Study programs at colleges for applied sciences (previously “technical colleges” [“Fachhochschulen”]) are highly oriented to practical experience and job training, while a university study program is more solidly oriented to academic study and basic research, and is meant to qualify students with a master’s degree in preparation for doctoral study. In this respect, there is in fact no direct competition with the THM. In practice, other criteria certainly play a role in choosing a study model.
In times of rising social inequality, worldwide conflicts, and increasing climate catastrophes, a credible profile in the area of sustainability is an important selling point in recruiting students.
What can I do (now)?
- Sign our petition to the Senate and the Presidential Board
- Put a link to our website in your email signature
- Discuss the topic of the Civil Clause with your colleagues and students
- Collect further signatures for a strong Civil Clause
- Participate in the upcoming events (opens in a new tab)