Guest Editor’s Introduction

Abstract

This special issue of mir is published at Professor Klaus Macharzina’s 65^th birthday. Playing with words, is that a coincidence happening at random, by accident or by chance? Those who know that a German university professor generally retires at the age of 65 will doubt that random is the case. Others know that a professor of his generation has the right to defer the time of his retirement. They could possibly suspect that this “Festschrift” was prepared rashly as a farewell present and might turn out as an accident for the Guest Editor, since Klaus has exercised the option to stay in his affiliation. Indeed we have known for quite a while that Klaus would stay here and wish to seize this special issue as a chance to thank him for continuing his work, which has been extraordinarily successful and acknowledged by scholars and practitioners from all over the world.