Universität KonstanzExzellenzcluster „Kulturelle Grundlagen von Integration“

Security, Society, and the State

16. November 2011

Under the title “Security, Society, and the State,” the Gerda Henkel Foundation has established a new program oriented toward scholars working in all areas of the humanities and social sciences. In organizing this program, the Gerda Henkel Foundation is cooperating with the “Cultural Foundations of Social Integration” Center of Excellence at the University of Konstanz, scholars at the “Normative Orders” Center of Excellence at the University of Frankfurt, and King’s College, the University of London.

Since the end of the Cold War, both loss of meaning and dissolution of boundaries on the part of the state have been a general theme in academic and political discussions of security policies. ‘Failed [and failing] states’ as safe havens for terrorists, transnationally organized criminality, loss of legitimation, and shrinking authority for action in conflict regions are some of the relevant catchwords. But there are good reasons for a more differentiated perspective: Security problems have become more complex and dynamic. They are now located in a continuum extending from military protection to functional infrastructures and viable processes of social negotiation. And the state has not become consistently less important in areas relevant to security policy; at times it has even gained in importance.

The program on “Security, Society, and the State” takes account of these contradictory developments. It intends to consider new problem areas in a manner that while exemplary for post-Cold War security policies has received little attention in the relevant research. The program places strong emphasis on encouraging younger researchers to explore problems that may be unconventional but that are nevertheless central. At the same time, experienced scholars will have an opportunity to work intensively for a limited period on a specific research question. One of the program’s focal points is the connection between basic theoretical research and concepts of importance for political practice.

In the program’s framework, funding can mainly be applied for to pursue research projects and organize conferences and workshops. In addition, doctoral fellowships are only offered in support of work related to the program’s areas of focus that is embedded in a larger research project.

The Gerda Henkel Foundation was established in June 1976 by Lisa Maskell in memory of her mother Gerda Henkel as a non-profit private foundation. Its sole purpose is support of scholarship, primarily through specialized and temporally limited work in the humanities at universities and research institutions. The Foundation is dedicated in particular to promoting the post-graduate education of young scholars.