IW

The Institute for World Society Studies conducts and supports research on a range of global issues.

It primarily utilizes concepts of world society as developed in sociological systems theory and sociological neo-institutionalism as theoretical frameworks for both conceptual and empirical work. However, the Institute also integrates other approaches from various theoretical and disciplinary backgrounds within globalization research and transnationalism studies.

Contemporary research at the Institute includesincludes studies on the emergence of the world political system, the functional differentiation of world society, global social policy issues, the development of the modern nation-state within the context of world society, and global social inequality. A detailed list of ongoing research activities can be found here and a list of recent publications here.

In addition to its active research initiatives, the Institute for World Society Studies serves as a thematic focal point for numerous doctoral dissertations and post-doctoral research projects. These projects, while not formally part of the Institute, underscore the prominence of its thematic scope within the broader research community.