Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC)

The Research Institute for Social Cohesion is an interdisciplinary, transfer-oriented and geographically dispersed institute. It has been in existence since 2020 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The RISC combines basic research on social cohesion with application-oriented research on current challenges from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.


Knowledge transfer at the RISC ranges from classic policy advice to public formats in which results are prepared for different target groups. Knowledge transfer at the RISC also includes the co-production of knowledge with a broad network of practice partners.


The eleven locations – eight universities and three non-university research institutions – each contribute their own profiles to the RISC. They multiply the nationwide reach of our research and transfer activities. At the same time, they reflect the regional anchoring and diversity of social cohesion.


The RISC includes the Technical University of Berlin and the universities of Bielefeld, Bremen, Frankfurt, Halle-Wittenberg, Hanover, Constance and Leipzig as well as the Sociological Research Institute Göttingen, the Leibniz Institute for Media Research Hamburg and the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society Jena. The Institute’s office is located at the three coordinating locations Bremen, Frankfurt and Leipzig.

FGZ location Frankfurt am Main

Democracy and social cohesion need productive conflict! The researchers at RISC Frankfurt research social struggles for recognition and participation and the productive power that can arise from such social and political conflicts.


The RISC Frankfurt at Goethe University looks back on a long and lively tradition of cooperation between philosophy, law and the social sciences in researching the foundations of social coexistence. This ranges from the beginnings of the Frankfurt School and the Institute for Social Research to the Cluster of Excellence and Research Centre Normative Orders. At the same time, the location also brings specific expertise to the Institute as a whole, which deals with conflicts about cohesion and, above all, with the genesis and stabilization of cohesion in and through conflict.


Together with Bremen and Leipzig, the RISC Frankfurt site coordinates and manages the Research Institute for Social Cohesion. The general office with administrative management and the central services of research coordination and knowledge transfer are located here.

Here you will find information on research and transfer as well as an overview of the team at the RISC Frankfurt site.

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News from the research center

Event
15.10.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Aufrecht. Überleben im Zeitalter der Extreme

Book Presentation

In ihrem jüngsten Werk begibt sich Lea Ypi auf eine Reise in die Vergangenheit ihrer Familie und verknüpft persönliche Erinnerungen mit den großen politischen und gesellschaftlichen Umbrüchen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Das Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen lädt gemeinsam mit dem Netzwerk FrauenmitFormat, dem Honorarkonsulat der Republik Albanien in Frankfurt am Main und dem Suhrkamp Verlag herzlich zur Vorstellung des neuen Buches von Prof. Dr. Lea Ypi mit anschließender Diskussionsrunde mit Prof. Dr. Lea Ypi, Honorarkonsulin Dr. Jonela Hoxhaj und Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst unter der Moderation von Rebecca C. Schmidt ein.

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Publication
02.09.2025 | Journal article

Beyond Myth Busting: How Engagement with Ethical Dilemmas Can Improve Debates and Policymaking on Migration

Schmid, Lukas; Ruhs, Martin; Bauböck, Rainer; Mourão Permoser, Julia (2025): "Beyond Myth Busting: How Engagement with Ethical Dilemmas Can Improve Debates and Policymaking on Migration". In: Ethics & International Affairs, 39 (1), S. 26-36.

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Publication
01.09.2025 | Journal article

Roundtable: Ethical Dilemmas and Migration Policymaking

Schmid, Lukas; Ruhs, Martin; Bauböck Rainer, Mourão Permoser, Julia (Hrsg.) (2025): "Roundtable: Ethical Dilemmas and Migration Policymaking". In: Ethics & International Affairs, 39 (1)

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Event
17.09.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Frieden retten! Friedensgutachten 2025

Book Presentation

Der Frieden ist auf dem Rückzug: Russlands Krieg in der Ukraine destabilisiert Europa, der Krieg in Gaza stürzt den Nahen Osten in Leid und Gewalt, und im Sudan hat der Konflikt die größte humanitäre Katastrophe der Welt ausgelöst. Zugleich fällt der globale Stabilitätsanker USA aus. Das Friedensgutachten 2025 zeigt, warum Europa selbst für seine Sicherheit und Verteidigung sorgen und zugleich am Ziel des Friedens festhalten muss.

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News
31.07.2025

Shaping the future - a review

As part of the exhibition "Fixing Futures. Planetary futures between speculation and control", our four-part lecture series "Shaping the future - between climate change, technology and social responsibility" took place.

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News
30.07.2025

What remains of "1968" - event review

What can we learn from the 1968 movement for our own time and where do we perhaps need new ideas and utopias? The event "Utopia and awakening of the 1968ers - What remains of political rebellion and individual self-liberation" on July 14, 2025 at the Historisches Museum was dedicated to these questions

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News
10.07.2025

Impressions from the Crisis Talk "Europe in a multipolar world"

The Crisis Talk "Europe in a multipolar world - How can the EU meet the challenges of major powers?" held on July 1, 2025 at the Representation of the State of Hesse to the European Union was dedicated to the question of how the EU should shape its influence and assume its responsibilities in this international environment.

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News
08.07.2025

Reflections on the defense of democracy - Two crises of democracy

The challenges are global, but we still act nationally. In addition, we lack the terms to orient ourselves politically and normatively. An article by Rainer Forst in the FR about the two crises of democracy.

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News
01.07.2025

How the erosion of modern governments threatens our future - Impressions from Jeffrey Kopstein's lecture

On June 16, Jeffrey Kopstein, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, gave a public lecture entitled "Trump and the Assault on the State" at the Research Centre Normative Orders. The starting point of his presentation was the observation that attacks on modern statehood are increasing in many countries: Politicians are coming to power who deliberately want to weaken or even destroy central institutions.

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