The Profile Area “Global Orders and Societal Transformations” (“Orders & Transformations”) unites researchers from various disciplines in exploring social orders and structures, processes of transformation and disruption, and their implications for contemporary societies. Bringing together internationally recognized research consortia supported by competitive external funding, as well as numerous award-winning scholars, the Profile Area fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across diverse academic traditions. Its members work jointly to develop innovative concepts, perspectives and methods for addressing key challenges and questions of the modern world.
Lisbeth Zimmermann
|Profile Area Spokesperson
“Wars and conflicts dominate the headlines, global economic and financial relationships are shifting, and democracies around the world are under pressure. ‘Orders & Transformations’ brings together experts from different fields to help make sense of these developments and their wider consequences.”
Samuel Groesch
Key Research Areas
Research in this Profile Area focuses on the societal causes and impacts of global challenges like environmental destruction and climate change, financial crises, migration, pandemics, growing inequality, and the resurgence of populism. It examines how and why democratic systems change.
The research is organized into four main areas: democracy, financial markets, social identities and polarization, as well as conflict and governance.
The research is organized into several interdisciplinary consortia and research centers. The Profile Area also partners with non-university institutions, including the Leibniz Institutes PRIF (Peace and Conflict Research) and SAFE (Financial Market Research).
Democracy
This area focuses on two key questions: how democracies develop and the challenges they face, as well as the global relationship between democratization and autocratization. What new orders emerge as a result of digitalization and artificial intelligence? What will the democracy of the future look like? The research area also specifically addresses issues related to social inequality and democracy.
Financial Markets
Financial market research focuses on how national and international financial market structures are meeting the challenges of our time, how they are influenced by these challenges, and how they respond to them. This includes issues such as demographic changes, climate change, and shifts in the global economic order.
Social Identities and Polarization
Researchers in this area are exploring answers to the growing lines of conflict in society. How is social identity formed, and what societal developments can be expected as a result? The focus is on trends of global and national polarization, social cohesion, and ways to address problematic societal developments.
Conflicts and Governance
The area “Conflicts and Governance” explores topics such as how international and national rules and institutions are created and the roles they play. It examines the societal impact of evolving technologies and knowledge cultures. Additionally, it focuses on how wars and violent conflicts change over time and the effects these changes have.
Orders & Transformations in the Media
The “(Dis)Order” issue of the Forschung Frankfurt research magazine offers insights into the work of researchers in the “Orders & Transformations” profile area.
Collaborations, initiatives, funding
The Orders & Transformations Profile Area connects cutting-edge research across a variety of disciplines. Discover more about our current projects – from DFG and EU-funded initiatives to exciting individual research efforts like ERC Grants or LOEWE Professorships. You can find an overview here.