German Institute for Global and Area Studies

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German Institute for
Global and Area Studies
Founded1964 (as German Overseas Institute)
Type Foundation under civil law
FocusPolitics, economics, and society in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East; global connections
Location
Area served
International
MethodArea and comparative area studies
Key people
Sabine Kurtenbach (president (ad interim) since 2024)
Website giga-hamburg.de

The German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) is a German research institute. It analyses political, economic, and social developments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, and combines this analysis with comparative research on international relations, development and globalisation, violence and security, and political systems. GIGA advises the Federal Foreign Office and other branches of the federal government. The institute is based in Hamburg and has an office in Berlin. [1]

Contents

The GIGA is a member of the Leibniz Association.

The GIGA in Hamburg Hamburg Deutsche Zentralbibliothek fur Wirtschaftswissenschaften 01.jpg
The GIGA in Hamburg

Research

The GIGA is an international research institute committed to a global approach to scholarship and conducts research in the fields of area studies, comparative area studies, and on global developments. [2] The researchers study the four global regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East [3] and simultaneously work within the four research programmes on the following issues: Accountability and Participation, Peace and Security, Globalisation and Development, Global Orders and Foreign Policies. [4] The institute employs approximately 160 people, 90 of whom are political scientists, economists, social scientists, peace and conflict researchers, or historians.

Organisation

The institute was founded in 1964 by the City of Hamburg and the Hamburg business community as the German Overseas Institute (Deutsche Übersee Institute), or DÜI, an umbrella organisation for the Institute of Asian Affairs, the German Orient Institute, the Institute of Latin American Affairs, and the Institute of African Affairs. As a consequence of an evaluation of the DÜI in 2004, [5] the institute renamed itself GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies in 2006; in May 2020 the name was changed to German Institute for Global and Area Studies. GIGA is no longer part of the name, but is still used as an acronym.

In 2007, the Institute underwent a transformation that saw the previously relatively autonomous regional institutes unite as the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien).[ clarification needed ] Only the German Orient Institute did not take part in the fusion. However, the GIGA had already hired many of its employees. [6]

The GIGA collaborates with numerous universities, research institutes, and expert associations around the world. It is represented on the boards of various academic networks, particularly those related to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. [7] [8] [9] [10]

The GIGA is a foundation under civil law and is based in Hamburg. It is jointly funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Hamburg Ministry of Science and Research, and the other federal states. The GIGA also receives external funding, which accounts for around 25 percent of the total budget. [11]

Since 2024, Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach has been the president (ad interim) of the GIGA. Together with the president, the GIGA executive board comprises Asia researcher Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner (GIGA vice president), Middle East academic Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz, Africa academic Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau, and Managing Director Dr. Peter Peetz.

International Networks

The GIGA serves as the central coordinator of various academic networks.

The Institutions for Sustainable Peace (ISP) [12] network undertakes research on measures to promote peace in post-war societies with partners from Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, England, and Germany.

The Land Matrix project [13] is an online platform that collects global data on large-scale land acquisitions. The GIGA maintains the platform and evaluates the data. [14]

Academics in the Regional Powers Network (RPN) [15] are studying the global rise of new regional powers. This is a joint project of the GIGA, the University of Oxford, and Sciences Po, Paris.

As of July 2014, the GIGA is coordinating the International Diffusion and Cooperation of Authoritarian Regimes (IDCAR) network. [16] Along with twelve international research institutes, the GIGA is investigating the influence of and cooperation between authoritarian regimes on the international stage.

Publications

The GIGA publishes three open-access series: the GIGA Focus, the GIGA Working Papers, and the GIGA Journal Family.

Current directors of regional institutes

Former DÜI/GIGA directors

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References

  1. ↑ "The GIGA Berlin Office". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "The GIGA". www.giga-hamburg.de. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ↑ GIGA's Research Areas: Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East [ dead link ]
  4. ↑ The GIGA Research Programmes
  5. ↑ Evaluation zeigt Reformbedarf beim Deutschen Übersee-Institut. bildungsklick, 29. November 2004
  6. ↑ "50 Years of GIGA". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Asociación Latinoamericana de Ciencia Política (ALACIP)
  8. ↑ desiguALdades.net Archived 13 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Vereinigung für Afrikawissenschafen in Deutschland (VAD)
  10. ↑ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Asienkunde e.V. (DGA)
  11. ↑ Founding of GIGA [ dead link ]
  12. ↑ "Institutions for Sustainable Peace (ISP)". Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Web Platform www.landmatrix.org". Archived from the original on 21 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  14. ↑ The Research Project The Land Matrix at the GIGA
  15. ↑ Regional Powers Network
  16. ↑ International Diffusion and Cooperation of Authoritarian Regimes (IDCAR-Network) [ dead link ]
  17. ↑ GIGA Focus
  18. ↑ GIGA Working Papers
  19. ↑ GIGA Journal Family
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