Peace & Conflict
Peace and conflict research and networking is a new focal area of the Chair for Sociology in Africa. We are coordinating and supporting several regional initiatives in this thematic area.
UBT Peace and Conflict research network
At the Chair for Sociology in Africa, we initiated the new research network UBT Peace and Conflict. The network gathers researchers who work within peace and conflict research at the University of Bayreuth. Our members cover a wide variety of issues such as armed groups, violence, social movements, security, humanitarianism, and persisting colonial hierarchies. We approach these topics from diverse disciplines including sociology, political science, social and cultural anthropology, history, economics, geography, religion studies, and more.
The network aims to bring these researchers together, further interdisciplinary discussion, and increase the role and impact of Peace and Conflict Research in politics and society. For these goals, we conduct joint research, organize public events, and offer seminars. Moreover, we also collaborate with colleagues at other German and international universities.
Visit the network website for further information
Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions & Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict
We are coordinating the regional networking initiative Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions – Bavarian Center for Peace and Conflict Research. The network takes an interdisciplinary perspective to better understand how people contest meanings in times of transition. It is a joint project by the Universities of Augsburg, Bayreuth, and Erlangen-Nuremberg, and the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (Munich-Berlin), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, 2022-2026).
Our Chair is member of the Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict research network. Its goal is to address the post/decolonial gap in German peace and conflict research. The network gathers partner institutions based in Marburg, Bayreuth, Freiburg, and Erfurt, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, 2022-2026).
Bavarian Scientific Alliance for Peace, Conflict, and Security Research
Representing the University of Bayreuth, our Chair participates in the Bavarian Scientific Alliance for Peace, Conflict, and Security Research, newly founded in 2024. We coordinate the thematic cluster "Economy, Technology, and Climate". Moreover, Prof. Jana Hönke (Chair for Sociology in Africa) acts as the current deputy speaker of the Alliance steering committee.
The Bavarian Scientific Alliance aims to pool the interdisciplinary expertise in these subject areas at Bavaria’s universities. It brings together thematic and regional expertise from Bavaria and engages in dialogue with diverse stakeholders (politics, business, civil society, etc.). Thereby, the goal is to develop research-based perspectives to address the growing global challenges and insecurities. Ultimately, the network aims to establish a new, internationally renown Bavarian institute of peace, conflict, and security research.
Photo: Foundation of the Alliance in February 2024 (©Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst)