GIGA Institut für Asien-Studien

Since the Cold War's end, militaries have played varied roles in democratic backsliding - from leading coups to supporting or resisting autocratic moves. This project systematically explores how armed forces shape the erosion, collapse, or defense of democracy worldwide.
DFG, 2025-2028

This project investigates the most potent weapon of digital authoritarianism - lawfare in the digital realm in South and Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Thailand in particular. Building on previous research, it creates the first database in the world on the range of laws used for digital repression of civil society by autocratic/autocratising states, its impact on democracies and civil liberties, and countermeasures for democratic resistance and resilience.
Luminate, 2025-2027

My project addresses the question of why the leftist element of civil society in Indonesia remains marginalised despite over two decades of democratisation that have ostensibly created a more open political landscape. It investigates the factors that hinder their consolidation, both related to organisational capacity and the socio-political structures. Specifically, it analyses the extent to which Indonesia’s recent democratic decline correlates with the continued absence of an organised left.
AvH, 2025-2027

This project will critically examine the societal discourse surrounding ethnic politics in mainland China, focusing on how intellectuals utilized various philosophical, theoretical, and cultural resources while adapting, appropriating, and rearticulating ideas to engage with the subject. It will shed light on the critical-mindedness and agency of contemporary Chinese intellectuals and enhance our understanding of intellectual praxis and knowledge production in a non-Western context.
DFG, 2025-2027

In its second funding phase, the WONAGO project continues to investigate powerful world order narratives in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It particularly aims to understand those perceptions in these regions that - as currently in the Ukraine war - differ significantly from prevailing ideas in the U.S., the EU, and their allies.
BMBF, 2024-2027

The rapid loss of biodiversity and ongoing climate change are also the result of intensive agriculture. At the same time, they jeopardize agriculture and food security. The Leibniz Lab "Systemic Sustainability" brings together relevant knowledge in science and society on this fundamental challenge in order to promote the development and implementation of systemic solutions.
Leibniz Association, 2024-2027

Das vom Auswärtigen Amt geförderte Digital Transformation Lab (DigiTraL) des GIGA analysiert die politischen Treiber und Konsequenzen der globalen digitalen Transformation. Dabei ist insbesondere der Globale Süden ein wichtiger Akteur und Gestalter dieses Wandels.
FFO, 2024-2025