Book Reading and Discussion with Dr. Ronen Steinke: „CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION: HOW THE SECRET SERVICE SHAPES POLITICS“

Book reading and discussion with Dr. Ronen Steinke on his new book, *Verfassungsschutz: How the Secret Service Shapes Policy* (to be published on June 29, 2023)

On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Dr. Ronen Steinke, an editor at the *Süddeutsche Zeitung* and journalist, will present his latest work at the University of Münster Book: „Constitutional Protection: How the Secret Service Shapes Policy“ scheduled to be released on June 29, 2023. The event is organized by the University Group of Critical Jurists in Münster and the AK Right_Wrong organized in cooperation with the Chair of International Public Law and International Human Rights Protection, held by Prof. Dr. Nora Markard as well as the Stiftung Forum Recht.

Steinke has been researching the world of domestic spies for years. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution is an intelligence agency that conducts domestic surveillance. The agency’s staff has doubled over the past 20 years, and its budget has tripled. Never before have there been so many agents in the Federal Republic of Germany. For his work, he has interviewed intelligence chiefs and shadowed agents on the job. In his latest book, Steinke shows how undercover agents operate. And he poses a fundamental question: Does this intelligence agency protect democracy—or does it actually harm it? Ronen Steinke will discuss this question with the audience and Münster law professor Nora Markard.

Dr. Ronen Steinke is an editor and writer for the *Süddeutsche Zeitung*. He holds a doctorate in law, is a lecturer at the German Judges Academy, and serves on the board of trustees of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law.

Prof. Dr. Nora Markard is a professor of international public law and international human rights protection at the University of Münster and a board member of the Society for Civil Liberties, which has recently successfully brought several cases challenging laws governing the Office for the Protection of the Constitution before the Federal Constitutional Court.

Admission is free.