The Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) has extended the interdisciplinary regional network “Bavarian Centre for Peace and Conflict Research” until 2028. The network brings together the University of Bayreuth, the University of Augsburg as well as the Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) Munich–Berlin, and collaborates with additional regional partners such as the Bavarian Research Alliance for Peace, Conflict, and Security Research (FoKS). It examines dynamics of political change and their peace-relevant consequences and pursues regional networking activities to promote peace and conflict research.
The “Bavarian Centre for Peace and Conflict Research: Conflicts.Meanings.Transitions” (BZeFK), set up in 2022, has been awarded €925,000 by the BMFTR for two more years (2026–2028). Coordinated at the University of Bayreuth, BZeFK studies how societies contest interpretations of the past and present during periods of change to shape the future. The network particularly seeks to expand regional and interdisciplinary cooperation in peace and conflict research by integrating approaches from sociology, history, international relations, and political science.
The dynamics of these disputes and their implications for peace are investigated in timely case studies — for example, in struggles over Ukraine’s position, climate change, the reckoning with sexualized violence, and the responsibility of arms manufacturers for violence. The network members also situate current conflicts in historical perspective, e.g. by examining the collapse of the Soviet Union and its consequences for the European peace order. „Thereby, the research network significantly contributes to international academic debates while also providing impetus for societal and policy advice in these times of rapid change, enabled by closer regional and interdisciplinary collaboration,“ says Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke (BZeFK project leader and Chair for Sociology in Africa at the University of Bayreuth).
Dynamics of meaning struggles and their effects on political change
The BZeFK network is funded by the BMFTR for strengthening and further developing peace and conflict research in Germany. It aims to promote interdisciplinarity, methodological pluralism, and knowledge transfer to politics and society. To this end, the network brings together scholars from political science, history, international relations, sociology, and peace research.
In the first funding phase (2022–2026), coordinated by PD Dr. Florian Kühn (Universities of Bayreuth and Gothenburg) and Dr. Jan Sändig (University of Bayreuth), the BZeFK researchers developed an innovative approach. It reconstructs how meaning struggles unfold, analyses their relationship to violence, and reflects the (self-)positioning of scholars. At the core is a praxeological perspective that does not view actions in isolation but situates the discursive struggles in their temporal and ideational context. The network’s research shows how interpretive struggles do not necessarily lead to violence but often result in regulated conflict management – linked to multidimensional understandings of justice that need to be politically negotiated.
In the new funding phase, the Bayreuth team will continue to coordinate the network and participates via three subprojects: In a subproject on struggles over climate change, Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke and Dr. Jan Sändig examine the role and influence of Ugandan climate activists on transnational civil society and international climate policy debates. A further subproject, led by PD Dr. Julia Eichenberg and Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke, analyses debates on the responsibility of arms manufacturers for violence committed with their weapons. Moreover, PD Dr. Florian P. Kühn deepens his research on the role of ambiguity in political conflict using Ukraine’s ambiguous positioning between Europe and Russia.
At the University of Augsburg, Prof. Dr. Christoph Weller is leading a subproject that addresses discursive struggles regarding sexual violence against children and youths. The project aims to uncover the tensions, conflict settings, and interactions within these debates, focusing on the attribution of responsibility, societal norms, and social and institutional practices. It will illustrate how societies negotiate responsibility in this context and how political responses have (or have not) been implemented.
At the IfZ in Munich, Prof. Dr. Isabel Heinemann (the new director of IfZ), Prof. Dr. Andreas Wirsching (former IfZ director), and Dr. Christian Methfessel are involved in the research network. Christian Methfessel will continue his research from the initial funding phase, focusing on the collapse of the Soviet Union and the interpretations of international order following the Cold War. This subproject specifically analyzes British and German positions regarding the renegotiation of international norms – such as territorial integrity, the right to self-determination, and minority rights – in response to the violent disintegration of the multi-ethnic Yugoslav Federation.
Fostering regional and interdisciplinary structures in peace and conflict research
The BZeFK strengthens regional networking and institutional development in peace and conflict research across Bavaria and beyond. Its researchers are also Fellows of the Bavarian Scientific Alliance for Peace, Conflict and Security Research (FoKS), of which the University of Bayreuth is a founding member and continues to participate in the steering committee. Funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Science, the alliance offers outreach, policy advice, networking events, and teaching support.
In the city of Augsburg, known for its commitment to peace (“Friedensstadt Augsburg”), the project partners support the newly established Transferzentrum Frieden Augsburg. It offers public events, targeted training programs, and networking activities.
Bayreuth’s BZeFK members also take part in the UBT Peace and Conflict Research Network, which has linked peace and conflict researchers at the University of Bayreuth in a new research focus since late 2022. The network runs the Bayreuth Peace Talks lecture series, outreach activities, early-career workshops, and teaching support, and coordinates research projects at Bayreuth that, for instance, investigate cross-border dynamics of violence and peace-building. This strengthens local activities for fostering peace and conflict research while also ensuring that insights and impulses from the BZeFK are transferred into policy advice and public debates.
(Adapted version, based on the press release by the University of Bayreuth)
