Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA)

Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA)

MIASA, based at the University of Legon, Ghana, is one of five Maria Sibylla Merian Centres for Advanced Studies, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research. Its overall aim is to work towards a reduction of global asymmetries in knowledge production and bridging the cultural divide between anglophone and francophone Africa. MIASA's thematical focus is on sustainable governance. The GIGA contributes to the Interdisciplinary Fellow Group on ‘Sustainable Rural Transformation’ and its outreach activities.
BMFTR, 2020-2026

Kooperationspartner

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)University of Ghana (UG)Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris (DHIP)

Leitung

Prof. Dr. Jann Lay

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Globalisation and Development"

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

Forschungsfragen

MIASA's research programme inquires into a broad field: sustainable governance in Africa in the three important areas of environment, democracy, and peace, which serve as MIASA’s main thematic corridors. The guiding question is how the practice of historically grounded social sciences and humanities in Africa can address sustainable governance as a theoretical, conceptual, and empirical challenge to provide new answers to key societal problems.

Beitrag zu internationaler Forschung

Four elements are particularly important to MIASA. It is meant to create a place of intense exchange between African and non-African thinkers. Secondly, MIASA seeks to highlight knowledge production by African scholars. Thirdly, it aims to challenge the North-South divides in the academic sphere. Fourth, MIASA strives to bring different directions and research traditions across the Humanities and Social Sciences into conversation. The GIGA contributes to these overarching goals by organising the Interdisciplinary Fellow Group on ‘Sustainable Rural Transformation’, policy conferences and publishing workshops.

Forschungsdesign und Methoden

The Interdisciplinary Fellow Groups bring together early career fellows and senior fellows to allow for the opportunity for establishing long-lasting intercontinental networks around a certain topic of specific interest. The group on ‘Sustainable Rural Transformation’, which was already created during MIASA's first funding phase, was comprised of ten international Fellows, one guest researcher and numerous contributors and collaborated at MIASA between February and May 2020. It concluded with a virtual conference in May 2020.
The publishing workshops offer an opportunity to discuss imbalances in academic knowledge production on Africa. On a more practical level, they offer different formats of mentoring and training for the next generation of African authors, reviewers and (associate) editors.

Blogbeitrag | 02.2025

Policy Conference: Dealing with Conflict, Preparing for Sustainable Peace

Despite considerable efforts to foster peace, multiple interlinked security challenges persist in Africa. The policy conference in December 2024 discussed sources of and solutions to conflict in pursuit of sustainable peace in Africa by bringing into dialogue research on key challenges, actors and instruments.

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

Christof Hartmann

Blogbeitrag | 04.2024

MIASA Publishing Workshops: Making African Research More Visible in International Journals

How can African research become more visible? How can asymmetries in knowledge production be reflected upon more systematically and how can they be addressed? The MIASA Publishing Workshops for African scholars, jointly organized by the Contemporary Journal of African Studies and Africa Spectrum, tackled these questions.

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

Digital or Visual Products | 2021

Ländlicher Wandel in Subsahara-Afrika: Ein Forschungscomic von Mitgliedern des Merian Instituts für fortgeschrittene Studien in Afrika

In diesem Comic werden ländliche Transformationen in Afrika thematisiert. Zwischen Februar und Mai 2020 arbeiteten Forscher aus verschiedenen Ländern virtuell und am Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa zusammen. Dieser Comic gibt Ihnen einen Einblick.

Dr. Lisa Hoffmann

Associate