Blurring Boundaries
Under the direction of Dr. Hannah Franzki, the junior research group Blurring Boundaries examines existing concepts, terms and methods of peace and conflict research with regard to their analytical usefulness as well as their social risks. The title of the junior research group Blurring Boundaries stands as a metaphor for the approaches and interests that guide the research of the research group. It refers (1) programmatically to the endeavour to open up peace and conflict studies to perspectives and points of view from other disciplines beyond the social sciences and thus to expose existing debates and conceptual demarcations to new perspectives; (2) epistemologically to the mutual constitution of the object of research, its normative evaluation and the theoretical and geographical location of the researcher; (3) in terms of research practices, to an interest in exploring research processes and ways of communication beyond the established forms within the university.
The junior research group focuses on the research project "Transnational Corporations, Violence and Responsibility: Drawing Boundaries in Transnational Law." The project examines the juridification of the (academic and societal) debate on transnational corporations, violence and responsibility through the "business and human rights" approach. Given the current focus on a corporate responsibility for human rights abuses, the project asks how non-justiciable experiences of violence can be represented, scandalised and made heard. The research group seeks exchange with actors who deal with the topic in the context of activist or artistic practice. In addition, the junior research group sees itself as a place to engage in discussions about contributions from critical legal studies to conflict research more generally and to jointly explore the intersections between aesthetics and social science research.