About the Research Group
The research group Radical Spaces at the new Berlin Center for Interdisciplinary Peace and Conflict Research (INTERACT) explores the multifaceted dynamics of processes of social mobilization that are accompanied by (non-)state violence. At the core of its three-year research program are the conditions, forms, and dynamics of radical politics as well as the comparative investigation of contentious politics and patterns of their radicalization and repression. Radical spaces are not narrowly understood as breedings grounds for political violence but as emergent arenas of contentious interactions that radically break with common expectation sand previous patterns of thinking and doing politics. The focus is thus on political subjectivation processes and interaction dynamics between authorities and non-state actors that promote or constrain specific action strategies and condition whether social actors turn violent.
Aims
Through its work, the research group aims to contribute to a comprehensive theorization of the connection between conflict dynamics and the culturally mediated interpretive struggles over the viability and legitimacy of different contentious repertoires. On the basis of several empirical case studies, the project aims to develop a conceptual toolkit that can be used to identify and evaluate escalation tendencies and radicalization potentials during waves of protest at an early stage. To begin with, the research group will empirically focus on exploring several cases of mass mobilization and contentious politics in West Asia and North Africa within the framework of the project "Discursive conditions of radical politics: Dynamics of (non)violent escalation during the second wave of the Arab Spring."
For more details about the research group and news about events and publications , please visit the official project page at FU Berlin.
