GRADE Center Normative Orders

The Research Centre Normative Orders and its associated research projects pursue the changes in orders and ideas of order in an interdisciplinary manner and in close connection with normative and empirical analyses. The respective research ranges from new orders of digitality to questions of political trust (as part of the Hessian cluster initiative “ConTrust”), the democracy of the future, social cohesion, international cooperation and global or climate justice. In the context of the Frankfurt location of the “Research Institute for Social Cohesion”, the social struggles for recognition and participation and the productive power that can arise from such social and political conflicts are being researched in particular.


The research centre “Normative Orders” is at the heart of the profile area “Global Orders and Societal Transformations” ( Orders and Transformations for short), which deals with societal orders and structures and their upheavals. Upheavals occur when existing structures can no longer cope with changed circumstances. This can be seen in such diverse areas as man-made climate change, financial crises, the coronavirus pandemic, growing social inequality and the global rise of right-wing populism, which is changing democratic orders, migration and the associated challenges, as well as the persistent inequalities between the sexes. The war in Ukraine will also permanently change the international order. The research network examines the normative ideas that play a role in such processes and conflicts. The foundations of politics and law are analyzed from the perspectives of social sciences, law, economics and the humanities.

Objective

The GRADE Center Normative Orders is organized around the Research Centre Normative Orders at Goethe University. (Post)graduate support is a central concern of the research network. With our inter- and transdisciplinary training concept, we want to enable young academics in the early career phase (Early Career Researchers) to take the step towards academic independence. To this end, the GRADE Center Normative Orders offers an annually updated training program. The comprehensive qualification program is aimed at social scientists, legal scholars, economists and humanities scholars in the doctoral and postdoctoral phase.

News from the research center

Event
28./29.05.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Global Health Justice: Principles and Practice

Conference

Following the research focus of the Global Health Justice Postdoctoral Programme, the "Global Health Justice: Principles and Practice" conference places a particular emphasis on themes such as the human right to health, political activism and health justice issues, and problems of structural injustice and vulnerable populations in health care. Keynote lectures by Jonathan Wolff, Kanchana Mahadevan, and Caesar Atuire.

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Publication
26.03.2026 | Monograph

The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective

Duve, Thomas; Herzog, Tamar (eds.): The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024 (portugiesisch 2025; spanisch 2026).

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Publication
26.03.2026 | Monograph

Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika

Duve, Thomas; Egío, José Luis  (2023): Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.

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Event
18.04.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Das Prinzip Donald Trump und die Verrohung der Welt

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Ein neuer Politikstil macht international Karriere. Er ist gekennzeichnet von Vulgarität, Verrohung und erklärter Rechtsfeindschaft. Machtinteressen werden nicht mehr juristisch bemäntelt. Stattdessen wird das angebliche Recht des Stärkeren zur Staatsdoktrin gemacht – innenpolitisch wie außenpolitisch. Treibende Kraft hinter dieser Verrohung der politischen Sitten ist ein US-Präsident, der nicht nur die amerikanische Gesellschaft und Kultur, sondern auch die globale Ordnung nach seinen Vorstellungen und Interessen umgestaltet. Die Römerberggespräche wollen diesen Politikstil verstehen.

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Event
14.07.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Democracy Over Time and the Climate Crisis

Lecture Series

Vortrag von Anja Karnein (Binghamton). Die Vortragsreihe untersucht Fragen der Klimakrise als Herausforderungen für demokratische Gesellschaften und konzentriert sich auf Themen wie politische Legitimität, Widerstand gegen fossile Brennstoffe und die Interessen künftiger Generationen. Sie wird organisiert von Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf und Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.

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Event
10.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Capital Investment, Inequality, and State Power in a Time of Climate Emergency

Lecture, Lecture Series

The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.

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Event
13.05.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Failed States and Cloudy skies: Tipping Points, Overshoot and Permanent Emergency, after America

Lecture Series

The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.

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Event
22.04.2026

Political Legitimacy, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change

Lecture, Lecture Series

Lecture by Ross Mittiga (SOAS London). The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests of future generations. It is organized by Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf and Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.

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Event
30.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Recht und Angst in Demokratien

Lecture
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