Disasters and Social Reproduction – Crisis Response between the State and Community
Booklaunch with Dr. Peer Illner (Normative Orders, Goethe University) and Prof. Darrel Moellendorf (Normative Orders, Goethe University) an Prof. Rainer Forst (Normative Orders, Goethe University) on January 22nd 2021 within the Postdoctoral Dialogue Series “Norms, Plurality and Critique” at the Research Centre Normative Orders of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Many communities in the United States have been abandoned by the state. What happens when natural disasters add to their misery? This book looks at the broken relationship between the federal government and civil society in times of crises.
Mutual aid has gained renewed importance in providing relief when hurricanes, floods and pandemics hit, as cuts to state spending put significant strain on communities struggling to survive. Harking back to the self-organised welfare programmes of the Black Panther Party, radical social movements from Occupy to Black Lives Matter are building autonomous aid networks within and against the state. However, as the federal responsibility for relief is lifted, mutual aid faces a profound dilemma: do ordinary people become complicit in their own exploitation?
Reframing disaster relief through the lens of social reproduction, Peer Illner tracks the shifts in American emergency aid, from the economic crises of the 1970s to the COVID-19 pandemic, raising difficult questions about mutual aid’s double-edged role in cuts to social spending. As sea levels rise, climate change worsens and new pandemics sweep the globe, Illner’s analysis of the interrelations between the state, the market and grassroots initiatives will prove indispensable.
For further information about the book click here.
News from the research center
Article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich published in EJPT
The article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich has just been published open access in the European Journal of Political Theory (EJPT). Ulrich brings the perspective of radical realism into a productive dialog with Adorno's critical theory.
more information ›Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay awarded the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Prize 2025
Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay (Junior Professor of Ethnology with a focus on Political Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and former postdoctoral researcher at the Research Center Normative Orders at Goethe University) receives the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Award 2025 in the category Humanities and Social Sciences.
more information ›Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?
Ulrich, Amadeus (2025): Ideology and suffering: What is realistic about critical theory? European Journal of Political Theory, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14748851251351782
more information ›New series “Vertrauensfragen” in the Frankfurter Rundschau initiated by Hendrik Simon
Democracy thrives on debate - if it serves the joint search for solutions. There is often a problem with this cooperation. The new FR series “Vertrauensfragen”, initiated by Hendrik Simon (Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) Frankfurt location at Goethe University's Research Centre Normative Orders ), examines why this is the case and how we can do better.
more information ›Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina
Moreno, Guadalupe (2025): “Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina”. Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies Discussion Paper 25/3.
more information ›Does deliberative democracy have a future in the age of oligarchs, autocrats and patriarchs?
On June 3, Prof. Simone Chambers will give a lecture on the value of democracies and the future of the form of government.
more information ›Klimaethik. Ein Reader
Sparenborg, Lukas; Moellendorf, Darrel (Hrsg.) (2025) : Klimaethik. Ein Reader. Suhrkamp.
more information ›What can a baroque tapestry tell us about colonial iconography?
Lecture by Cécile Fromone on May 21. The professor at the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, director of the Cooper Gallery at the Hutchins Center and author will talk about the long-forgotten African origins of iconography and its colonial dimension.
more information ›