The Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) has started its second funding period. The RISC site based at Leipzig University’s Research Centre Global Dynamics (ReCentGlobe) will continue to be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with 6.3 million euros until 2029, subject to a positive interim evaluation in 2027. The funding is intended to support basic research on social cohesion in the context of global processes of change and to gain new insights into phenomena of polarisation in Germany and other regions of the world.
Enabling long-term social cohesion research
Last autumn, a scientific committee convened by the BMBF examined the renewal application in detail and recommended that the RISC, with its eleven sites, should continue to receive funding. In Leipzig, eleven new research projects will be supported in the coming years. They are assigned to Research Area 2 at ReCentGlobe: Social Cohesion, Populism, and Change of the Global Condition. They will work closely with other humanities and social science programmes at Leipzig University.Leipzig site spokesperson Professor Gert Pickel explains: "The continued funding from the BMBF will enable us to further deepen and expand our research into questions of social cohesion in times of great social challenges in the coming years. We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue our work with so many dedicated researchers in Leipzig. Our aim is to strengthen transnational and globally comparative perspectives on social transformations at the RISC in particular and to further promote the internationalisation of research."
The deputy spokesperson in Leipzig, Professor Sonja Ganguin, adds: "The funding will give us the freedom to do really in-depth research and to study different phenomena of social cohesion in the long term. We look forward to exploring the interfaces between different subject areas even more in the coming years and gaining new insights into dimensions of social cohesion."
Focusing on key challenges
In the new funding phase, the RISC will focus its research and knowledge transfer on the nexus of cohesion and the contemporary social transformation processes. To this end, the BMBF has promised the RISC annual funding of up to ten million euros over the next five years to conduct wide-ranging studies to gain insights into social cohesion in the face of the climate crisis, transnational coupling and decoupling processes, war and migration.The institute will focus on four major areas:
- Political institutions and processes: analysis of the relationship between political institutions and processes and social cohesion, with a particular focus on the challenges posed by political radicalisation and polarisation
- Economic and social inequalities: examination of the effects of inequalities on social cohesion, in particular with regard to the legitimacy of systems of status and distribution as well as political and cultural conflicts
- Public goods and infrastructures: research into the resilience and adaptability of public goods and infrastructures in the face of global challenges such as the pandemic, digitalisation and the climate crisis
- Cultural aspects and symbolic practices: analysis of the narratives, practices and bodies of knowledge that contribute to inclusion or exclusion within society
The Research Institute Social Cohesion was established by the BMBF in 2020 as an interdisciplinary and decentralised institute. It brings together the expertise of around 200 researchers at eleven sites in Germany. The aim is to advance basic research into social cohesion issues, to address current problems and to enrich public discourse through innovative knowledge transfer. In its first funding period, the RISC has already established a unique data infrastructure providing previously unknown insights into social cohesion in Germany and Europe.
Event information:
On Saturday, 26 October 2024 at 4pm, FGZ site director Gert Pickel will discuss freedom and polarisation with journalist Antonie Rietzschel in the series " Zusammenhalt ist... prekär’ " as part of the Globe24 science festival. The event will be hosted by Rebecca Schmidt, Managing Director of the RISC. Location: Leipzig, Paulinum - Assembly Hall and University Church of St. Pauli Admission is free.Forschungsinstitut Gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt kann in die Hauptphase starten
