The research area Institutions is based on the thesis of de-institutionalization and deals with the ambivalence of international institutions: On the one hand they contain the use of violence but on the other hand also justify its use.
In addition to a historical analysis, this research area conducts empirical research on the role of international organizations and discusses how institutional arrangements can best be designed in order to capture new forms of political violence.
The work package looks at normative patterns of justification as well as situational changes of intervention and prohibition of intervention from a historical perspective. The juxtaposition of justification and prohibition will be examined within the context of de-colonization, especially in Latin America after 1800. The work package is coordinated by Justus Liebig University Giessen.
The second work package of this research area analyses the causes and consequences of the ‘normalization’ of violence that has taken place through new interpretations of the prohibition of violence. Researchers investigate the institutional containment of violence as well as the exceptions that have enabled the use of violence in the past two decades. The work package is coordinated by PRIF and Justus Liebig University Giessen.
A combination of the dogmatic perspective of international law and exemplary case studies is the topic of this research focus: It sheds light on the intertwining of international humanitarian law and human rights. The effect of institutional precautions aimed at containing political violence and how boundaries between different types of conflict are blurred, will be documented. Researchers ask, what responses can be developed. The work package also addresses the changing nature of international institutions in dealing with and pacifying new violent actors in the context of peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities. The work package is coordinated by Justus Liebig University Giessen and Goethe University Frankfurt.