Reimagining Coexistence in Times of Global Disruption
How can we rethink coexistence in a world that is constantly changing? This research field looks at the transformation of societies through interdisciplinary research.
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How societies transform amid global crises
How do democracies maintain their viability in the face of crises?
Wars, climate change, migration, demographic shifts, and digital transformation are changing societies around the world. Research in the field “Reimagining Coexistence in Times of Global Disruption” addresses key questions about democracies, including how they maintain stability under these conditions and how they continue to develop and grow. Scientists and scholars working in this area study how societies react to seismic disturbances and the conflicts that ensue, as well as the new forms of coexistence that emerge from disruptions of this magnitude.
What holds societies together in a changing world?
Political and social scientists work with experts in area studies to better understand the political, social, and normative conditions necessary for holding societies together. Their work involves a comparative approach that analyzes political processes in different regions of the world and takes into account a multitude of perspectives. They examine how democracies solve problems without putting limits on openness, plurality, and individual freedom.
Rethinking coexistence within democracies?
Through international cooperation and transdisciplinary collaboration, researchers develop new approaches that grasp how democratic structures adapt to global change. Their work generates new ideas that inform politics, society, and public debates. These ideas also contribute to new ways of thinking about democratic coexistence under transforming conditions.
What are researchers focusing on?
- Global disruptions, crises, and how people deal with questions of finality as they relate to social and political power structures both within and beyond the nation state
- Contested freedoms, both on an individual and societal level, and their impact on democratic societies
- The resilience and renewal of the normative principles upon which democratic societies are based around the world
- The emotional dimensions of political conflicts and coexistence: mechanisms for processing conflicts within democracies
- Qualitative and quantitative data on the challenges facing social cohesion and democratic problem-solving
Who is involved in this research?
- The Department of Political and Social Sciences and its four institutes: Political Science, Sociology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Media and Communications Studies
- Central institutes: North America, Eastern Europe, Latin America
- Department of Law
- Department of History and Cultural Studies: History, East Asian Studies
- Department of Philosophy and Humanities: Philosophy
Collaborative partners in this research area
- Berlin University Alliance: other area studies departments at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin, as well as transdisciplinary research
- The WZB Berlin Social Science Center and the Weizenbaum Institute: Making connections between global ruptures (especially digitalization) and their impact on political conflicts and social coexistence (especially civil society)
- The Hertie School: Governance and AI
- The Einstein Center for Population Diversity: Making connections between demographic transformations, social inequity, and coexistence
- German Federal Foreign Office, German Council on Foreign Relations, Center for Liberal Modernity, German Federal Agency for Civic Education, German Federal Network for Civic Engagement, Berlin’s Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion: Making connections between politics and society on the federal and state level