The Research Unit was established in 2024 as the successor to the Käte Hamburg Center for Advanced Study in the Humanities “Law as Culture”.

The new foundation is intended to strengthen the transdisciplinary analysis of contemporary crises and the challenges faced by societies in dealing with the “polycrisis”, and to expand the research profile of the university in the UN and federal city of Bonn.

Current crises seem to affect almost every aspect of human existence and all spheres of late modernity. Climate change, war, the rise of authoritarian illiberal democracies, the economic crisis, the long-term consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit are just some of the buzzwords that characterise this social development.

The Émile Durkheim Research Unit: Crisis Analysis addresses this central question of the post-global era and focuses on the comparative-historical analysis of poly- and meta-crises.

The aim is to analyse both the inherent logic/rationality of the individual crisis spheres and their interconnectedness - with the aim of making the knowledge generated available to other social actors and initiating dialogue with them.

In addition to research and teaching in this subject area, the Research Unit maintains close cooperation with research institutions worldwide.

Our core tasks include the transdisciplinary networking of scientists, artists and students who deal with contemporary crises, as well as the regular organization of public events.

To this end, we always welcome renowned personalities and cooperation partners from academia and practice.

Click here for the list of persons