Research & Transfer

Research & Transfer

The GIGA conducts social science research with real-world relevance on Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as on global developments. It is dedicated to research-based knowledge exchange and policy advice.


  • President (ad interim)

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach is President (ad interim) of the GIGA.

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Regional Institutes

    Africa|Asia|Latin America|Middle East

    Migration

    Around 80 million people have been forcibly displaced by war or political violence worldwide. Several million more have fled their homes because of environmental disasters and socio-economic marginalisation. As there is no immediate end in sight to this steadily increasing global trend, forced migration is one of the most pressing challenges facing world politics today. We focus on the background to this phenomenon in our study regions.

    Global Approach to Scholarship

    The GIGA works with perspectives, concepts, and experiences from different world regions. It strives to produce research that is global in content, reach, and structure.

    Global Approach to Scholarship


    Research

    With its Global Approach to Scholarship, the GIGA analyses how political, social, and economic transitions arise, as well as how they unfold both within our study regions of the Global South and around the world. Our research is guided by a set of overarching questions: How can participation and accountability in different political regimes be nurtured and maintained? How can peace and security be achieved, and conflict overcome? How can inclusive and sustainable development be fostered? How do changing regional and global orders influence policymaking and impact on leaders’ problem-solving capacities?

    The Institute’s research (1) combines in-depth area expertise and cutting-edge comparative methods (“Comparative Area Studies”), (2) covers different levels of analysis – global, regional, national, local –, and (3) applies and develops innovative theoretical and empirical approaches, engaging with ideas and practices from different parts of the world. We balance our commitment to rich empirical detail with keeping a close eye on how this all adds up to the bigger picture.


    Transfer

    The GIGA addresses issues of high societal and political relevance. Via their research, our scholars identify emerging trends early on and provide strategic analyses, giving political and social debates important impetus herewith.

    On the basis of our scholarship, we actively engage with academic, political, and societal stakeholders in Germany, at the European and international levels, and in our study regions of the Global South. Research-based knowledge exchange and policy advice are key elements of our mandate.

    We collaborate with leading institutions and researchers worldwide and are active in the regions we study via Research Platforms, established and new networks, as well as through research stays. Our GIGA Library fosters a unique and rich collection of literature on Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as on global developments. We make the results of our research readily available to a global audience (Open Access).

    The GIGA disseminates its research via high-impact journals and publishing houses. Our various events and Open Access publications bring together leading academics and practitioners in dialogue and exchange. We address the media (Press Centre) and the general public as well, also via our social media channels.



    Research Infrastructure

    The GIGA is home to the largest non-university information centre for Area Studies and Comparative Area Studies in Germany. With its library collections, its Open Access endeavours, its provision of research data, and its various services to the academic community as well as other interested parties, it fulfils a number of key research infrastructure-related tasks.

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