Research group "Civil Society and Governance"

 

 

  • Focus

    “Civil Society” is a multi-dimensional concept that relates to individuals in the privat sphere, as well as a wide variety of non-governmental actors and structures. The concept has a long and colorful history of exploring society’s ability to self-manage. “Civil Society” therefore has a close connection with “governance”, which focuses on the participation of non-governmental actors in political decision-making and policy implementation processes, as well as their role as critical observers. “Civil Society” always has a normative connotation. In de-mocracy theory it can be seen as the archetype of a just and democratic society, and therefore, functions as a critical reference point for political actions or social conditions. However, the concept of “civil society” is also used by individuals or governments to support anti-democratic tendencies and maintain social inequity.
    The group focusses on three main areas of research. First, is the study of civil society engage-ment (e.g., associations, foundations) in governance networks in Germany, where advocacy and service provision are the primary tasks for civil society organizations. The second area of research has an international scope, e.g., analyzing the role of NGOs in China or comparing civil society’s contribution to managing migration issues in the US and Germany. Within this area, the role of civil society in non-democratic and authoritarian settings is of particular interest. The third research field explores political theory and the history of ideas. Here research focusses on changes in the understanding of the term “civil society” and how specific concep-tions of “civil society” are developed and justified.
    The research group holds a colloquium once each semester, in order to present and discuss the state of the current PhD-dissertations and research projects, as well as to plan new ones.