Consensus & Conflict Department

The department’s research and outreach activities are divided into three main areas of focus: 

• (Anti-)pluralistic Attitudes and Practices 

  The plurality of social and cultural backgrounds, lived environments, and political preferences in post-migrant societies forms the starting point for this research focus. The research examines how individuals perceive, evaluate, and help shape society and processes of social transformation. Since plurality is a socially contested concept, both perspectives that support and those that reject plurality are taken into account. 

• Post-migrant civil society in transition 

  This research focus centers on how civil society organizations and social movements deal with the reality of social plurality. The analysis examines various forms of action—from protest as a visible indicator of social conflicts to voluntary engagement—with a particular focus on (pro-)migrant and anti-racist actors as well as antagonistic counter-mobilizations. In doing so, both internal dynamics within civil society and their reverberations in public debates and political institutions are taken into account. 

• Contested Plurality in Institutions and Discourses 

  Public institutions and discourses are both the result of and the structuring framework for negotiation processes concerning recognition and participation. They thus possess significant potential to shape post-migrant societies. Against this backdrop, the projects in this research focus examine how plurality is promoted or hindered in institutions and discourses. Particular attention is paid to state institutions and both traditional and digital media.  

• Development and implementation of diversity studies that address racism and discrimination in various types of institutions (Diversity Management in Foundations, Diversity in the Federal Administration (DiBu), How Does Diversity Find Its Way into Government?). 

• Implementation and scaling of a digital monitoring tool to measure violence and protection against violence in refugee shelters (Monitoring and Evaluation of Protection Against Violence in Refugee Shelters: Scaling and Deepening; Monitoring Protection Against Violence in Refugee Shelters: Dissemination, Analysis, and Institutionalization). 

• Development of a dataset (ImmigSR) on the social rights of immigrants in a global comparison.  

• Development of a publicly accessible data infrastructure on protest events in local communities in Germany; analyses of patterns and dynamics of migration-related mobilizations (www.protestdata.eu, Local Conflicts over Migration);