Research & Transfer

Religion is a key facet of society and affects politics and socio-economic development in a multitude of ways. In the name of religions, terrorist attacks are committed, armed conflicts are fought, and xenophobia is justified. At the same time, religion can also be a vital contributor to peace. Our research explores the interplay between religion and security.  

How do geopolitics, populism, and global power relations influence international climate politics? Our researchers analyse these interdependencies and examine how countries of the Global South can promote sustainable development to engender fairer and more effective climate policy worldwide. 

Participating in global supply chains brings huge development opportunities to poorer countries, but it is also often associated with precarious working conditions, pollution, and unequal power relations. How can global supply chains become more inclusive and sustainable? Explore our research on global supply chains vis-à-vis the Global South. 

Global power shifts and rising agency across the Global South are reshaping international cooperation and prompting the formation of new partnerships. Throughout 2026, the GIGA will examine both Germany’s evolving relations with and emerging collaboration between countries of the Global South.

After 54 years of dictatorship and over 13 years of war, the Assad regime fell in December 2024. GIGA researchers examine Syria’s future, offering expertise on the political transition and on the dynamics of authoritarianism, violent conflict, displacement, and climate-related mobility. 

It is not only non-democratic regimes that resort to authoritarian practices. They can increasingly be found in use also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine once again raises the question of sanctions’ effectiveness. Economic sanctions are a popular foreign policy tool for addressing a wide range of international issues, including armed conflict, human rights violations, and terrorism. 

The BRICS, G20, and G7 are shaping global governance in an era of shifting power dynamics. These alliances influence economic relations and geopolitical strategies. Explore how their interactions and rivalries redefine the world order and how we study these developments. 

Approximately 80 million people worldwide are currently displaced due to war or political violence. Millions more have fled their homes because of environmental disasters and socio-economic marginalisation. As there is no immediate end in sight, forced migration is one of the most pressing challenges facing world politics today. We focus on the causes of this phenomenon in our study regions. 

The Indo-Pacific has emerged as the world’s economic and strategic centre of gravity, an area in which established and rising powers are now heavily competing with one another. Our work particularly emphasises the perspectives of actors (both governmental and non-governmental) in the Indo-Pacific. Learn more about the GIGA’s research on this strategic space. 

Democracy builds on common principles such as elections, a division of power, and the rule of law. In practice, democratic institutions often underperform due to executives overstepping the mark, conflicts and power struggles causing a stalemate in the policy process, as well as governance instability.

The global digital transformation is changing the way we live and work, as well as how states relate to each other. Our researchers analyse the ensuing opportunities and challenges in the Global South and explore emerging instruments of state–society interactions and foreign policy, such as digital diplomacy, and cyber-sanctions, including anti-fake news laws. 

Religion is a key facet of society and affects politics and socio-economic development in a multitude of ways. In the name of religions, terrorist attacks are committed, armed conflicts are fought, and xenophobia is justified. At the same time, religion can also be a vital contributor to peace. Our research explores the interplay between religion and security.  

How do geopolitics, populism, and global power relations influence international climate politics? Our researchers analyse these interdependencies and examine how countries of the Global South can promote sustainable development to engender fairer and more effective climate policy worldwide. 

Participating in global supply chains brings huge development opportunities to poorer countries, but it is also often associated with precarious working conditions, pollution, and unequal power relations. How can global supply chains become more inclusive and sustainable? Explore our research on global supply chains vis-à-vis the Global South.