30.01.2025

“The Record and the Narrative” – New film and lecture series with Ra’anan Alexandrowicz

Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, born in Jerusalem in 1969, is one of the most important documentary filmmakers of our time. His works revolve around questions of law, power and testimony in Israel and Palestine and have received numerous international awards. Alexandrowicz is currently working on his new project “1 Land 2 Cinemas” as a fellow at the research initiative “ConTrust” at the research center “Normative Orders” at Goethe University. In cooperation with Prof. Dr. Vinzenz Hediger, he will examine the different historical developments, parallels and narratives of Israeli and Palestinian cinema.

As part of this fellowship, the Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum DFF will be showing three of his films on February 11 and 12, each with an introduction and subsequent discussion with experts. Alexandrowicz’s best-known film “The Law in These Parts” (2011) uses the Israeli-Palestinian legal system to explore the question of whether a democratic state can maintain a military occupation without undermining its core democratic values. His documentary “The Inner Tour” (2001) accompanies a group of Palestinians on a three-day bus tour through the state of Israel. His most recent film, “The Viewing Booth” (2019), about an American-Jewish student who watches videos about everyday life in the West Bank, deals with the limits of the power of documentary in the fight against disinformation.

Further information on the Fellowship: Here
Further information and tickets: Here…

News from the research center

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
29.04.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Kulturindustrie heute?

Panel Discussion

Das Gespräch „Kulturindustrie heute?“ widmet sich der Aktualität und Tragfähigkeit eines zentralen Begriffs der Kritischen Theorie. Die Filmwissenschaftlerin Gertrud Koch diskutiert im Rahmen der Gesprächsreihe "Frankfurter Schule" mit dem Filmkritiker Bert Rebhandl die gegenwärtigen Formen kultureller Produktion und Verbreitung vor dem Hintergrund von Digitalisierung, Plattformen und globalen Medienmärkten.

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Event
20.03.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

40 Jahre Schengen-Raum

Colloquium

Der 1984 geschlossene Schengen-Vertrag schuf einen heute 29 Staaten umfassenden Raum ohne Binnengrenzen, doch Migration über die Außengrenzen führte zuletzt zur Wiedereinführung von Kontrollen, auch durch die Bundesregierung ab 8. Mai 2025. Das Walter Hallstein-Kolloquium diskutiert die rechtliche Zulässigkeit, wirtschaftliche Folgen insbesondere für Arbeitsmigration und Arbeitsmarkt sowie die Zukunft des Schengen-Raums.

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News
12.02.2026

Satanist politics and the decline of reason in liberal democracies

For the last time in the winter semester 2025/26, the Research Center hosted the lecture series "Am Scheidepunkt. On the crisis of democracy". At the end, philosopher Michael Rosen from Harvard University presented his concept of "satanic politics" as a variant of the political interpretation of the world.

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News
09.02.2026

On the topicality of the concept of violence based on Camus and Derrida

Prof. Dr. Christine Abbt from the University of St. Gallen gave a lecture on democracies and the concept of violence as part of the lecture series "At the crossroads? On the crisis of democracy", she gave a lecture on democracies and the concept of violence. Under the title "Defending democracies. On the topicality of the concept of violence in Camus and Derrida", the philosopher discussed forms of violence and revolt and categorized them with regard to a democratic setting.

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Publication
04.02.2026 | Journal article

New Perspectives on Trust in International Conflicts

Wille, Tobias; Simon, Hendrik; Daase, Christopher; Deitelhoff, Nicole; Wheeler, Nicholas J.; Holmes, Marcus; Rathbun, Brian C.; Acharya, Amitav; Mitzen, Jennifer (2026): „New Perspectives on Trust in International Conflicts“. In: International Studies Review 28 (1), viaf027.

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News
02.02.2026

States competing for people - David Owen on civil geopolitics

As part of the lecture series "At the Crossroads - The Future of Democracy", David Owen from the University of Southampton presented his concept of civil geopolitics.

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News
20.01.2026

Christine Hentschel on reorientation in catastrophic times

As part of the lecture series "At the crossroads? On the crisis of democracy", the sociologist spoke about living in and dealing with catastrophic times. Against the backdrop of the destruction of living conditions, wars, permanent crises and threats to democracy, Hentschel addressed the infiltration of the catastrophic into everyday social life and a changing activist and literary approach to the future.

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Publication
08.01.2026 | Journal article

Gender Differences in Financial Advice

Bucher-Koenen, Tabea; Hackethal, Andreas; Koenen, Johannes; Laudenbach, Christine (2025): „Gender Differences in Financial Advice“. In: American Economic Review, 115 (12), pp. 4218–4252.

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