Worker representation on company boards is different in Britain and Germany. But why is that? Why do labour laws in two nearby countries develop differently? 

In this project, Prof. Rebecca Zahn looked beyond parliament and the courts to uncover the importance of ideas in shaping our laws. The project applied insights from law and historical studies to never-before-analysed archival material documenting the exchange of ideas between exiled German trade unionists and leaders of the British labour movement at a critical juncture in the 1940s. This new approach, focusing on the influence of ideas, revealed a unique understanding of the origin and distinctiveness of laws.

• Funder: Leverhulme Trust
• Law School researcher: Prof Rebecca Zahn