Globalization has become a catchword that has been used in recent decades to explain many processes of social change, be it liberalization, the rise of populist movements, or the internationalization of areas as diverse as the media or crime. This research area intervenes in this discussion by taking a historical-critical look at the phenomena, actors, problem descriptions, reactions and strategies behind the hype.
On the one hand, our projects examine how the global position of German and European societies changed after 1945 in the face of decolonization, the global Cold War, international organizations, and the continuing assertion of the nation state. How did individual groups and entire societies shape the new international order, and how did they attempt to realign their influence under changed (and changing) conditions? Secondly, our projects examine the interaction between these constellations and the constitution of German and European societies: How were images of self and others transformed, and which competing interpretations of the world vied for interpretative sovereignty? Which alternative discourses were established? Which political concepts guided action in each case, and what role did the law play as a powerful instrument for anchoring claims and discourses? The projects in this field aim to render the complex social transformation processes in contemporary history comprehensible by dissolving the binary opposition of society and globalization in favor of a nuanced analysis of global constellations and the question of how European societies shaped them and were shaped by them.