Research Projects

C³ members are currently engaged in multiple externally funded research projects. Here's an overview of the major projects.

Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions

When tyranny ends, when societies come to terms with their past, or when values change, people contest meanings in times of transition. How these struggles unfold is essential for societal peace in the present and future.

The Bavarian network Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions ("Deutungskämpfe im Übergang") examines these conflicts from an interdisciplinary perspective. The focus is particularly on meaning struggles over peace strategies by non-state actors, over violence, and over universal rights and diversity.

The overarching goal is to establish a Bavarian Center for Peace and Conflict Research. The center will promote regional and interdisciplinary exchange and connect peace and conflict researchers in Bavaria. Thereby, the network aims at increasing the social and political impact of peace and conflict research in the region and beyond.

As a joint project, Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions brings together scholars from the Universities of Augsburg, Bayreuth, and the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (Munich-Berlin), coordinated at the University of Bayreuth. In its first funding phase (2022–2026), the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg was also part of the network. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) from 2022–2028.

Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict

The network investigates how historically formed postcolonial hierarchies manifest themselves in contemporary conflicts and how they impact future possibilies for conflict transformation. To do so, the network brings together historical perspectives on the roots of conflicts, particularly regarding colonialism, with postcolonial approaches as well as with methodologies and theories from Peace and Conflict Research.

The collaborative project involves the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (Freiburg), the Center for Conflict Studies at the Philipps University Marburg, the University of Bayreuth, and the University of Erfurt.

The interdisciplinary research initiative (2022–2028) is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).

In/securities

In/securities is a new thematic field of the "Africa Multiple" Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth. It applies the lens of in/securities to study world-making in Africa. In empirical regards, the research raises questions of how contests over discourses and practices of in/security are an integral part of how different actors envision and shape new "worlds" in Africa. With a focus on contested hierarchies, unsettled knowledges, and quotidian mediations and peacemaking, it will also reflexively address methodological questions of knowledge production on in/securities in Africa. The project brings together researchers from the different Cluster locations on the African continent, from the University of Ghana, Makerere University (Uganda) and the University of Bayreuth.

"Africa Multiple" Cluster of Excellence

Shifting centres & geopolitical futures of the Horn’s subnationalisms

The political map of the Horn of Africa is being redrawn. Driven by global investments, shifting Red Sea trade, and internal crises, coastal ports and inland logistics hubs are emerging as new power centers that bypass traditional state capitals. This shift is fundamentally altering the region's political geography, redistributing economic wealth, and redefining who holds authority.

Rather than viewing these transformations solely through top-down geopolitics, this project investigates how local elites and communities navigate and leverage this influx of resources. Recognizing these shifting dynamics provides vital insights into the evolving drivers of conflict, future political settlements, and pathways to lasting stability. The project is funded by the UK International Development’s Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) Research Fund.

XCEPT website

Knowledge Network on Racism Research (WinRa)

Taking decisive action against racism and right-wing extremism and promoting, expanding, and anchoring research on these topics in the university landscape - the importance of these topics has been demonstrated not least by the terror attacks in Hanau and Halle. Racist violence is booming in Germany; it manifests itself structurally and institutionally.

Against this background, the Knowledge Network on Racism Research (WinRa) strategically strengthens and connects the scattered and fragmented research on racism in Germany through a research-based and interdisciplinary exchange. Content and methodology play a central role in the knowledge network. We will develop strategies for expanding the research infrastructure for racism research and be available as a point of contact for politics, civil society, the media, and the public.

The Knowledge Network on Racism Research is designed as a joint project. In addition to overall coordination and management at the DeZIM Institute in Berlin, WinRa consists of four regional networks. These are established at the University of Bielefeld/Leuphana University of Lüneburg (Network West), the University of Mannheim/University of Bayreuth (Network South), Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences/ Humboldt University of Berlin (Network East) and Bucerius Law School Hamburg/University of Hamburg (Network North).

WinRa Website

Cyrenaica Contested: Politics, Identity and Justice in Times of Turmoil

The region of Cyrenaica covers the entire eastern part of Libya, and alongside Tripolitania in the west and Fezzan in the south forms one of the three major regions of the country. Since 2011 Cyrenaica has witnessed the often violent competition between a number of different political models and practices (state-like, tribal, Islamic, jihadist, federalist, and separatist). In addition, controversial discourses about history, identity, and the role of Cyrenaica within Libya have emerged, and a quest for reliable and legitimate forms of conflict resolution is currently taking place. Against the background of the ongoing civil war in Libya, Cyrenaica has been characterized as the adversary camp of the internationally recognized government in Tripolitania. However, despite such a categorization there is little current empirical research about the region. This project will fill this gap.

Using a collaborative research approach combining the work of a German ethnologist, PD. Dr. Thomas Hüsken, and a Libyan political scientist, Dr. Amal Obeidi, the project will explore four interconnected thematic fields: 1. Politics in Cyrenaica: State, Non-state and Political Economy; 2. The Making of Identity in Cyrenaica; 3. Politics, Practices and Understandings of Justice; and 4. Ethical and Methodological Challenges for Research in Danger Zones. Gender is a crosscutting theme in all fields and will thus allow us to reach beyond the prevailing male bias (i.e. towards male activism and practices) in research on the region. The project will deliver academic insights of practical relevance about the renegotiation of the post-independence order in a neglected historical region of Libya.

Libya Contemporary

The London Moment: Transnational Collaboration of Governments-in-exile during the Second World War and its Impact on European History (completed)

The "London Moment" examines how governments-in-exile during the Second World War planned for a post-war Europe. Exiled by the radical expansion of the Nazi Empire, London became a safe haven from 1940 on. The exiled governments and their key figures (including Charles de Gaulle, Edvard Benes, and Queen Wilhelmina) sought to maintain national interests and pursue close cooperation - i.e. the London Moment. They claimed statehood and sovereignty and developed new political and legal ways to achieve both. By studying these processes, the project shows the origin of a constructive legacy of European cooperation under the most difficult circumstances.

The London Moment (2014-2023) was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

The London Moment

Africa’s Infrastructure Globalities (INFRAGLOB): Rethinking Political Geographies from the Global South (completed)

The project explores infrastructure sites in Sub-Saharan Africa to understand how emerging powers challenge traditional theory and practice of international relations. Chinese and Brazilian companies are now the foremost investors in Africa. They often follow established investment rules, but also introduce new practices of governance and business-society relations that compete with Western norms. The project examines these new practices and how they become contested and reshaped in the local and transnational arena. For this, the INFRAGLOB team applies diverse perspectives including philosophy, cultural anthropology, social movement studies, and science and technology.

INFRAGLOB (2018–2025) was funded through an ERC Starting Grant.

INFRAGLOB