Cultures of Conflict

Cultures of Conflict brings together researchers from the social sciences, cultural studies, and the humanities who use the concept of conflict as a guiding perspective for their empirical and theoretical-conceptual work.

In this research area, conflicts are not merely understood as exceptions or disturbances; the very fact that they can recur again and again in certain cycles, and result from specific social constellations, points to the limits of such a notion. Likewise, the idea of latent conflicts, of long-lasting conflict constellations, and our knowledge of complex, direct, and indirect connections between different conflicts also points to a need for a more nuanced understanding of what conflict entails.

In contrast to the analysis of manifest conflicts—between groups, political organizations, classes, gangs, or warring parties—that are familiar from social science conflict research, this research area deals with questions concerning how the diverse, tension-laden problem areas of the present can be understood in terms of conflict theory. Beyond looking at open conflicts, students also study latent conflicts, structurally conditioned conflict constellations, and their connections to social crisis phenomena. Such conflicts are understood as culturally situated phenomena, and in this context, students also examine what should be considered a conflict in the first place, which conflicts are perceived as such, which ones are overlooked or made invisible, and in which cultures of conflict they are articulated.

Within this research context, students conduct fundamental research on conflict theory. But this is combined with a goal of contributing to society in terms of the intensification of sociocultural conflict dynamics that are readily apparent in many places at present. It currently brings together researchers, at different stages of their careers and with different research focuses, from disciplines including sociology, philosophy, political science, and educational science. This research area thrives on the disciplinary, methodological, and theoretical diversity its members bring to it. Regular colloquia and events are organized, and conflict-theoretical perspectives are introduced into university teaching. Last but not least, this research area serves as an incubator for joint research and publication projects.

Commodified Agency: Social Space and the Digital Value Chain, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg, Apl.-Prof. Dr. Ulf Wuggenig, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, seit 2022, Förderung durch das MWK

Alltag im Dissens. Eine Studie zum Gebrauch (imaginären) Rechts von Reichsbürger:innen, Prof. Dr. Andrea Kretschmann, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, seit 2022, Förderung durch das MWK

Strukturen und Kontexte rechtskonformen Polizeihandelns. Eine qualitative Untersuchung zur Rechtsbindung am Beispiel des Streifendienstes der Polizei Niedersachsen, Prof. Dr. Andrea Kretschmann, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2021-2022, Förderung durch die Polizeiakademie Niedersachsen

Integration durch Vertrauen. Bedingungen Vertrauensaufbaus geflüchteter Eltern mit 0 bis 5jährigen Kindern gegenüber frühpädagogischen Angeboten in Niedersachsen, Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandermann, 2019-2022, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen

Critical Art(ist)s and Urban Development – A collaborative study comparing German and Israeli Cities, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2016-2020, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen

Kulturelle Diversität als kuratorisches Konzept. Strategien und Narrative der Inszenierung und Dekonstruktion auf transkulturellen PerformingArts- und Musik-Festivals, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2014-2019, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen

Reconfiguring Anonymity - Contemporary Forms of Reciprocity, Identifiability and Accountability in Transformation – Teilprojekt: Making Visible. Performance, Art and Anonymity, Apl-Prof. Dr. Ulf Wuggenig, Institut für Philosophie und Kunstwissenschaft, 2015-2019, Förderung durch die VolkswagenStiftung

Die Stadt als Möglichkeitsraum, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg (Co-PI), Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2015-2019, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen

Conducting research in conflictual fields can be challenging in terms of both research practice and research ethics. Researchers may suddenly find themselves in the midst of conflict dynamics or even be perceived as a party to the conflict. Particularly in empirical work, researchers may therefore be confronted with specific challenges that raise fundamental questions about how to deal with them methodologically and theoretically. With the working group “Research in Conflict”, we want to create an interdisciplinary framework that offers space for dialogue, exchange and (methodological) reflection for empirical/ethnographic researchers in conflictual fields. We see the working group as an open format for reflection on issues of research ethics, research practice and research tactics that arise in the context of current research projects and processes. Topics may include, for example, questions about field approaches, the attitude of researchers in the field or the interaction with actors involved in research, as well as ethical or (data) security-related challenges.

The working group meets in two formats: On the one hand, there is the possibility of (digital) ad-hoc meetings on the occasion of current problems in empirical research. On the other hand, we organise (face-to-face) workshops in which we focus on specific topics.

The working group is organized by researchers from Leuphana University Lüneburg, the University of Hamburg, the Hamburg Institute for Social Research and the University of Bielefeld. It is open to empirical researchers of all qualification levels within and outside the university.

If you are interested in joining in the working group, please send an e-mail to one of the two coordinators:

Prof. Dr. Andrea Kretschmann (Leuphana University Lüneburg, andrea.kretschmann@leuphana.de)

Dr. Stephanie Schmidt (University of Hamburg, stephanie.schmidt@uni-hamburg.de)

If you are interested in joining the working group or have any questions, please send an email to ak_rechtspopulismus@leuphana.de"