Research Groups

Ausgangspunkt des Forschungsprogramms „Asymmetrie der Globalität“ ist die Beobachtung, dass die globalräumliche Dimension und globalfaktische Betroffenheit des menschlichen Lebens in allen Regionen der Welt beständig zunehmen. Dabei fällt das Niveau der „Globalisiertheit“ der Gesellschaften in den verschiedenen Weltregionen jedoch unterschiedlich aus. Eine Asymmetrie von „high globalitarian societies“ (hoch-globalitären Gesellschaften) und „low globalitarian societies“ (niedrig-globalitären Gesellschaften) tritt immer stärker zum Vorschein. Der Fokus der Forschung liegt auf unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen der Globalität der Gesellschaften in den verschiedenen Weltregionen sowie ihrer typologischen Zuordnungsbarkeit und deren Begründung. Aus den Perspektiven der Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie, Philosophie, Ethnologie sowie der Kultur-, Religions-, Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften werden die unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen und Formationen der Globalität in Asien, Europa, Amerika, Afrika und Australien-Ozeanien interdisziplinär untersucht, inhaltlich ausgemacht und ursächlich analysiert.

Security concerns and diplomatic relations are some of the oldest features of the international system. The research group “Security and Diplomacy” will be dealing with topics that have been of great importance to a lot of writer on international affairs for the last centuries. It will extend and enrich the debate, by concentrating on questions regarding the shift of power and influence within the three dimensions of hard, soft and especially structural power. Furthermore, the group will investigate what roles the three varieties of power play in the field of diplomacy and security, how a possible shift of power in both fields could be measured appropriately and the implications such a shift has for countries of the G20 as well as other significant areas.

• Research Project “Structual Power”
• Research Project “Rising China – How will Europe react?”
• Bookproject: “Power in the 21st Century – International Security and International Political Economy in a Changing World”

Although science and environment have traditionally been on the sidelines of research in international relations, their inclusion is coming into increasing prominence. This research group is concerned with linkages and the interplay of (scientific) knowledge and the natural environment with international politics, under the assumption of a global power shift. The group will investigate the interdependencies that might exist between possible shifts of power (hard, soft and structural power) and the fields of knowledge, innovation and environment, in addition to expected social and political implications.

• Research Project – “Rising knowledgepowers”
• Bookproject: The Global Politics of Science and Technology: Vol. 1 and 2

The global power shift that has taken place during the last decades first became measurable by means of economic data and trends. Emergent countries, like the BRIC-states, have entered the global stage as important economic actors and changed the structure of the international economic system. The research group will focus on states and cross-national relations, with an emphasis on production, trade and finance to highlight changes, assisted by indicators and analyses of the respective effects.

• Research Project “Structual Power”
• Research Project “China in Afrika”
• Bookproject: “Power in the 21st Century – International Security and International Political Economy in a Changing World”
• Bookproject: Global Power Europe – Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
• Bookproject: Cyberspace and International Relations.

The research group focuses on U.S. foreign policy and transatlantic relations – both past and present – in the dimensions of politics, security, economy, society, and culture.

Within the context of the research group, particular emphasis is put on the role of soft power in U.S. history and foreign affairs as well as transatlantic relations. Whereas hard power traditionally rests on military coercion or economic inducement, soft power can be considered as attractive power, resting for example on (political) values or the culture of an actor. Questions regarding possible shifts in the dimension of soft power are among the main focus areas of the research group. To this end, alongside theoretical differentiation of the concept of soft power, empirical case studies regarding the soft power of the United States of America as well as further actors are conducted.