RESEARCH FOR RESEARCHS SAKE ... OR FOR SO CIETY - IS PUBLIC RESEARCH IN GERMANY AUTONOMOUS OR ... ACCOUNTABLE

What factors determine how autonomous German researchers are from soci ety's demands ? The answer has much to do with: institutional structur es (how statutes cause patterns of relationships to emerge between sci entists and public authorities), the ways of financing research, and e ach research organism's capacity for action. The German scientific sys tem tolerates a wide range of institutional situations while remaining a balanced model, since it makes it impossible either to do research for research's sake or to subordinate research completely to society's demands.