Norms and Changes in Global Politics

Die Sektion Normen und Wandel in der Weltpolitik wirbt um neue Mitglieder auf Doktoranden- und PostDoc-Ebene aus den sozial-, rechts-, wirtschafts- und geschichtswissenschaftlichen Instituten an der JLU und anderen Universitäten, die sich von unserer Forschungsagenda angesprochen fühlen. Bitte mailen Sie bei Interesse (mit einer kurzen Beschreibung ihres Profils, ihrer Uni-/Institutionen-Anbindung und Ihrem inhaltlichen Interesse an einer Mitgliedschaft) an PD Dr. Janne Mende.

Mission Statement

In the age of globalization, world politics has become subject to a fundamental change which has revealed contradictions and tensions, not infrequently leading to conflicts and the use of violence. On the one hand, new problem situations have arisen with globalization (e.g. climate change, financial and currency crises, epidemics, terrorism, migration owing to poverty and exploitation etc.) which interstate governance can no longer deal with effectively. At the same time, the dominance of the state system is held in check by new actors such as transnational enterprises, NGOs or global civil society. Traditional norms of the international state system like sovereignty or the ban on intervention are waning. However, there has been a clear increase in intergovernmental and transnational norms which affect practically every level of political life. One example is the norm of R2P, the responsibility to protect. In the light of these developments, the thesis of the end of the national state and the thesis of governance beyond it have gained ground in the doctrine of International Relations.
On the other hand, efforts to codify global politics have been constantly hampered and foiled by two factors: first, cultural and socio-economic differences between societies in the “Global South” and “Global North”; second, political power interests on the part of individual states which, while fighting for their autonomy to act, revert to the logic of the politics of state interests – and, for example, exploit the protection of human rights as a pretext for interventionist power politics. Moreover, there is in part a severe lack of effectivity, democratic legitimacy and justice in the global governance of international institutions, which are dominated by western states – and provoke the resistance of the BRICS and other states in the South. Insufficient compliance with international and transnational norms – owing to different interpretations and understanding of norms, norm collisions or the appeal against, questioning of or exploiting of global norms by individual states or social actors for their own ends – is becoming more and more of a problem for world politics and must be addressed.
The Norms and Change in World Politics section takes these highly charged processes of change as the starting point in the research and training of academics. It is to be seen as an interdisciplinary forum involving political science, sociology, history, law and economics. The goal is a long-term intellectual exchange and a sustainable network to open up new perspectives and fields of action beyond the boundaries of disciplines, especially for early-career researchers. Here, dissertation and habilitation projects can be discussed in colloquia, and other research projects already running or at the planning stage may be presented. We expect to invite renowned external academics to speak at regular guest lectures.

The section Norms and Changes in Global Politics seeks to cooperate with the section International Security and Statehood.

Aktuelle Veranstaltungen der Sektion im WiSe 2017/18

Internationale Präsenz und Publikationen der Sektionsmitglieder

- Alex Reichwein organisiert für die 5th Global Conference of the World International Studies Conference (WISC) / Taiwan Association of International Relations (TAIR) in Taipei/Taiwan, 1-3 April 2017 eine Section Realist Visions of World Order and Foreign Policy in Times of Global Power Shifts.

- Alex Reichwein und Mischa Hansel präsentieren ihr Projekt Rethinking Responsibility: Military Humanitarianism beyond Western States und ihr Paper Forbidden Fruit? Humanitarian Reasoning and the New Authoritarian Interventionism auf der EISA's 10th Pan-European Conference on IR der European International Studies Association (EISA) im September 2016 in Izmir (Yasser University).

- Alex Reichwein und Mischa Hansel organisieren bei den 3rd European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS) 2016 einen Workshop zum Thema Rethinking Responsibility: Military Humanitarianism beyond Western States? Sie gehören zu den insgesamt 40 ausgewählten internationalen Wissenschaftler/innen, die den Zuschlag erhalten haben. Im Lichte der Bürgerkriege in Syrien, im Irak und im Jemen sowie dem neuen Interventionismus Russlands in Georgien und der Ost-Ukraine und dem Konflikt zwischen dem Iran und Saudi-Arabien um die regionale Vormachtstellung am Persischen Golf werden Hansel und Reichwein ein Papier Forbidden Fruit? Humanitarian Reasoning and the New Authoritarian Interventionism vorstellen - und zusammen mit 15 weiteren ausgewählten internationalen Kolleg/innen aus Deutschland, Europa, den USA und Australien über das völkerrechtliche Instrument der Schutzverantwortung und dessen Ge- und Missbrauch neu nachdenken. Die EWIS finden unter dem institutionellen Dach der EISA vom 6. bis 8. April 2016 an der Universität Tübingen statt.

- Mischa Hansel und Alex Reichwein geben 2016 einen deutsch-/englisch- (LIT Verlag Berlin, unter Vertrag) und einen englischsprachigen (under review) Sammelband Die R2P: Instrument für einen Militärischen Humanitarismus? / Rethinking Responsibility: Military Humanitarianism beyond Western States heraus.

- Mischa Hansel und Alex Reichwein präsentieren ihr Projekt Rethinking Responsibility: Military Humanitarianism beyond Western States und Paper Forbidden Fruit? Humanitarian Reasoning and the New Authoritarian Interventionism auf der 57. Annual Conference of the  International Studies Association (ISA) im März 2016 in Atlanta/Georgia, USA.