IDCS Opening

The “Institute for Democracy and Civil Society – Thuringian Documentation and Research Center against Misanthropy” is a non-university-affiliated research center sponsored by the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. The Institute is funded by the Thuringian State Program for Democracy, Tolerance and Openness and was opened in August 2016 under the leadership of Dr. Matthias Quent in Jena. The Institute’s mission is to facilitate knowledge transfer between academia, politics and society as well as the development and publicizing of research projects concerning the support of democratic culture.

The members of the Institute investigate the following research topics:

• Discrimination: In order to make antidemocratic activities and movements in Thuringia more visible, as well as to develop counterstrategies thereto, the Institute manages various empirical studies on the topic of “discrimination.” Discrimination is researched on structural, institutional and individual levels.
• Hate Activity: This section researches the activities of physically- or Internet-based Thuringian hate groups. Hate groups often set their behavior according to negative stereotypes of others; they reject, slander and attack entire groups of people based on certain traits (gender, ethnicity) not under their control. The effects on victims are particularly burdensome, as they are denigrated or attacked simply on grounds of their gender/racial/sexual/etc. identity—something they cannot control and which leaves them vulnerable to attack at any time. The goal of this section is to research and document hate activities in Thuringia, taking into account recent international academic findings on the topic.
• Civil Society in Motion: The goal of this research group, whose full title is “Civil Society in Motion: Database of Protest Events”, is the random sampling, surveying, categorizing and evaluating of protest events in Thuringia. This project is primarily based on the analysis of newspapers and other public sources.
• Forms of Agitation in Rural East Germany: The “innovations” made in right-wing extremism in Germany’s east have earned headlines across the nation. New factions and manifestations of extremism—for example, “reichsbürger“ (German sovereign citizens), “völkische Siedler” (ur-nationalistic rural communes), right-wing militias, and populist movements—represent serious challenges for academic analysis, for the political establishment and for democratic culture itself. Empirical research of the dangers these phenomena pose has been lacking until now. For that reason, under commission of the Government Commission for the New States, this study will analyze right-wing structures and agitation and formulate recommendations for action against right-wing extremism. This runs from February 2017 to March 2018.

Academic Advisory Council

Besides a civil-societal board of trustees, the work of the institute will be guided by an academic advisory council. The council does the following:

• Introduces academic expertise, ideas and suggestions for practical research
• Ensures political independence in the institute’s work
• Ensures high-quality academic work through academic supervision
• Raises the profile of the institute and supports the transfer of results out of academia.

The council will represent (both outward and inward) a diverse range of perspectives and will bring together a range of themes and topics in the institute’s field. It will strive for the coordinated development of both research questions and projects. The chairman and founder of the council is Prof. Wolfgang Frindte of the University of Jena.

Publications

The current publications of the IDCS can be found at the Institute’s website.

Contact:

Institut für Demokratie und Zivilgesellschaft

Talstr. 84

07743 Jena

E-Mail: presse@idz-jena.de

Telephone: (+49) 03641 2719403

Internet: www.idz-jena.de