The German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) hosted a conference on “Adapting Institutions: A Comparative Area Studies Perspective” in April 2014. Within mainstream political sciences, approaches are often shaped by experiences in Western and Northern societies. Therefore, perspectives from other regions are frequently neglected and the “hybrid” institutions of Southern societies – which mix the Northern and UN system with unique Southern experiences – are overlooked. The conference examined these institutional variations through cross-regional comparison.
The report and videos of the conference can be found here.
The Max Weber Foundation promotes global research, focused on the areas of social sciences, cultural studies and the humanities. Our research is conducted at ten institutes in various countries across the globe with different and independent fields of focus. Through our globally operating institutes, we are able to contribute to the communication and networking between Germany and our host countries or regions. By promoting academic dialogue and merging academic and non-academic employees from several countries with different cultural backgrounds, the Max Weber Foundation is able to strengthen the internationalization of research.
TRAFO offers a platform for scholars in the humanities and social sciences who are interested in transregional exchange and research on current issues. TRAFO is the blog of the Forum Transregionale Studien, curated in cooperation with the Max Weber Stiftung – Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland.