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The Research Group examines the role of international law in a changing global order. Can we, under the current significantly changing conditions, still observe an increasing juridification of international relations based on a universal understanding of values, or are we, to the contrary, rather facing a tendency towards an informalization or a reformalization of international law, or even an erosion of international legal norms? Would it be appropriate to revisit classical elements of international law in order to react to structural changes, which may give rise to a more polycentric or non-polar world order? Or are we simply observing a slump in the development towards an international rule of law based on a universal understanding of values?

This project is part of a Horizon 2020 consortium of nine academic institutions to analyze the cultural, science and innovation policy of the EU in a comparative perspective over a three year period starting in March 2016 (“EL-CSID: European Leadership in Cultural, Science and Innovation policy”). It will focus on how different actors such as national governments, supra- and transnational institutions, NGOs and international organizations engage science in their external relations by looking into their respective objectives, strategies, programs and instruments for science diplomacy.

A new global industrial revolution will unfold in the 21st century as a result of climate change and the decreasing availability of fossil fuels. At the core of this revolution is an energy-technology paradigm shift involving a move away from fossil energy technologies to regenerative ones. This paradigm shift will also directly affect one of the mainstays of modern societies: automobility and all road-based passenger and goods traffic.Three promising development paths have emerged in this field of innovation: the hydrogen combustion engine, the electric fuel-cell engine, and the electric battery-powered engine. We hypothesise that cultural configurations play a key role in the development and use of technical innovations.

The role of science and expertise in society is changing. While the political demand for sound science and evidence has never been higher, experts are confronted with scepticism and claims for public participation. Both tendencies can currently be observed, the scientization of politics and the politicization of science.

Focusing on welfare reforms and food safety, this international research project analyses the causes and consequences of changing science-policy relations in Great Britain, Germany, and the US since the mid-90s.

The speed and scope of change in society are stimulating decision makers in private and public sector organizations to seek new approaches to creating value—economically and societally. This search often entails trying out fresh ways of framing and responding to issues. In a growing number of these organizations stimuli are being sought from the arts by bringing in ideas, practices, and people from the world of theatre, music, painting, sculpture, dance, and literature, for example.

How do different value systems interact? How does this exchange trigger new ideas and their implementation, hence innovation, in its particular discursive context?

The development of high-tech novelties usually takes place behind closed doors in research laboratories and factories, sometimes even garages. Before a new product has its public debut, it has been tested and approved in various ways. These steps are often followed by a first trial of application. Yet, what happens when a new technology meets with the daily routines of its users? What problems occur and according to which criteria are advantages and drawbacks evaluated, and with what consequences for the technology and its further development? These are the questions I ask in my dissertation project “innovative city light”.