Interdisciplinary Center for Peace and Conflict Research in Bavaria

Research program – Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions

When tyranny ends, when societies come to terms with their past, when values change, people contest what these transitions mean. How these interpretational struggles unfold is essential for societal peace in the present and future.

In the research network Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions („Deutungskämpfe im Übergang“) we examine such contestations from an interdisciplinary perspective.

In particular, we focus on meaning struggles over peace strategies by non-state actors, over violence, and over universal rights and diversity.

Our network promotes diverse methodologies, interdisciplinary exchange, and institutionalization of peace and conflict research in Bavaria. We strive for societal and political impact in the region and beyond by sharing results with political actors, academia, and the broader public.

Scholars from the Universities of Augsburg, Bayreuth, and Erlangen-Nuremberg, and from Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (Munich-Berlin) are collaborating, coordinated at the University of Bayreuth.

Our guiding question

How do struggles over meaning contribute to peace?

Research Areas

Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions

News

Image of exhibition
This year, a group of history students under the supervision of PD Dr. Julia Eichenberg and […]
How can dialogue between science and society be improved? Around 30 experts from politics, practice, […]
The Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions Research Network will host its final workshop on 13-14 October 2025 in Augsburg, […]
Recently, our network member Dr. Christian Methfessel, postdoctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary […]
Mind-map created during workshop
From July 30 to August 1, 2025, a workshop was held for the third time […]
Foto: Dr. Stahl im Interview
After the devastation of World War I, the League of Nations was supposed to secure […]

Picture attribution: Stop the war coalition by Chris Beckett (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); Hiroshima by Jan Sändig, Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions; Diversity/rainbow flag by Benson Kua (CC BY-SA 2.0)