The projects at the Bielefeld Section of the Research Institute Social Cohesion focus on conflict dynamics that either strengthen or threaten social cohesion.
Researchers at Universität Bielefeld investigate conflict dynamics across various spheres of life – including the family, education, care, and healthcare sectors – and across different contexts, from interpersonal and regional settings to the national level. Just as conflicts can be constructive or destructive, cohesion also has two sides. The research distinguishes between constructive and destructive cohesion. Cohesion can endanger social peace when it is understood in an exclusive sense – as is the case in ideologies of inequality, group-based misanthropy, right-wing populism, and hate crime. At the same time, constructive cohesion can empower societies, for example by including socially marginalized groups in areas such as education, healthcare, and institutions of political participation.
Longstanding Expertise
The Bielefeld Section draws on many years of experience in interdisciplinary research on conflict and violence dynamics, including long-term studies on processes of exclusion and inclusion. The interdisciplinary expertise of the Bielefeld research group spans the fields of conflict and violence research, longitudinal studies, the monitoring of devaluation processes, prevention and intervention in childhood and adolescence, the sociology of conflict, social movement and protest research, epidemiology and public health, and inclusion research. In addition, the Bielefeld research team has extensive experience in communicating innovative and practice-relevant research to the public. A methodological focus of our work is to observe and measure cohesion through empirical studies – particularly by means of appropriate monitoring instruments in qualitative and quantitative surveys.