Research Group Anderl

The research group deals with conflicts over land, food and rural development. These conflicts have frequently resulted from capitalist modes of production in the countryside, for example in the case of industrialized agriculture. These conflicts ignite around concrete problems such as environmental disasters or disputes over the exploitation of resources and their distribution.

Social movements play a crucial role in this context. They mobilise around conflicts and thus draw attention to them, often also showcasing feasible alternatives. Therefore, the research group pays special attention to social movements and their interaction with other societal groups and institutions. Methodologically, qualitative methods are used to understand which overarching social problems can be identified in these concrete confrontations. In particular, the research team is engaged in further developing ethnographic methods.

In rural conflicts, the consequences and problems of transnational socialization, political economy and institutional politics overlap. Therefore, the research group engages in interdisciplinary theory building, starting from the observation of concrete conflicts and contributing, among others, to social movement research, international political sociology and conflict research.