Approved projects from the call
"Civil Security - Societies in Transition"
Rapid societal change and the impact of global developments on the living environment of people constantly require new answers from civil security research. In addition, technological developments are accelerating and changing social coexistence in the long term. Answers to security-related challenges of societies in transition can be provided, among other things, by practice-oriented research in the social sciences, humanities, culture, economics and law. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) therefore funds projects in the aforementioned disciplines that make significant contributions to understanding the causes, interactions and consequences of societal and technological change on civil security, as well as developing innovative strategies, concepts, guidelines or handouts for public authorities, political decision-makers, security practitioners and civil society in dealing with societal and technological change.
Ongoing research projects:
COVID-19-KRIM: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on crime development in Baden-Württemberg
Funding code 13N15739
The Corona pandemic has had a significant impact on people’s lives. Thisalso holds true with regard to crime. With the first lockdown, the number of residential burglaries decreased, as did violence in public spaces. At the same time, crime such as fraud also became apparent during the crisis. In the COVID-19-KRIM project, the short- and medium-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on crime development are investigated using the example of Baden-Württemberg. For this purpose, different types of crime will be examined comparatively.
COVID-19-KRIM project outline (PDF, only available in German)
MISRIK: Memes, ideas and strategies of right-wing extremist internet communication
Funding code 13N15896 to 13N15898
Whether spoken, written, or visual, right-wing extremist internet communication has undergone a transformation through the use of digital services. This poses new challenges in terms of education and prevention, but also law enforcement. This is because right-wing extremist actors form heterogeneous networks on the Internet, communicate with an almost unmanageable number of symbols, and conduct so-called info wars with sophisticated rhetorical means that are often hardly recognizable as right-wing extremist to outsiders. The MISRIK project analyzes how right-wing extremist worldviews are subtly disseminated, which theories are powerful in the background, and which strategies right-wing extremist actors use in the digital space. The results are incorporated into education and training at police academies, handouts for security practitioners and prevention institutions from civil society.