German universities & institutes
JLU attracts more than 28 000 students. It is host to a number of projects in the context of Germany’s nationwide “Excellence Initiative”.
Its high-profile international cooperation programs are established by 90 high-quality bilateral cooperation agreements and its membership in networks of higher education. The university focuses on Colombia as one of seven strategic partner regions worldwide. JLU’s successful Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin) in Colombia already constitutes the University’s thematic priority in the natural and life sciences. The envisaged CAPAZ will establish a second, complementing thematic priority in social sciences and cultural studies. Major research interests in these fields are Latin America and Development Studies, Critical Security Studies, Social Inequalities, Memory Studies and Historical Injustice.
The Professors responsible for the CAPAZ are Thilo Marauhn (Public Law and International Law), who is the spokesperson of the German Consortium at CAPAZ; Regina Kreide (Political Theory and History of Ideas) and Stefan Peters (Peace Studies).
Göttingen
UGOE currently hosts some 31,000 students, thirteen per cent coming from abroad. It is part of a network of first-class extra-university research establishments.
UGOE has a strong international stance and its new internationalization strategy identifies Latin America as a key area to enhance UGOE’s international collaboration. Several UGOE research Institutes and centers focus on Latin America, one of them being the Research Centre for Latin American Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure (CEDPAL). CEDPAL fosters research in criminal law in Latin America and promotes post-graduate education through different academic programs. Kai Ambos, Professor of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Comparative Law and International Criminal Law and Director of CEDPAL, represents UGOE in the consortium. José Martínez, Professor of Public Law and Rural Law, Director of the Institute for Agricultural Law at the Faculty of Law contributes with particular expertise on land law. Moreover, Susann Aboueldahab and Juliette Vargas, both scientific assistants, collaborate in the establishment of the CAPAZ Institute through research and organizational tasks.
Berlin
The Institute for Latin American Studies (LAI) was founded in 1970 as an interdisciplinary central institute at Freie Universität Berlin (FU), one of Germany’s Universities of Excellence. It is Germany’s largest institute for research on Latin America and is also one of Europe’s leading institutions for Latin American Studies, with well-established Master’s and PhD programs embedded in widespread international cooperation. At the Institute, seven disciplines are represented in research and teaching in the social sciences and cultural studies. Seven professors and more than 25 research associates currently work at the Institute, conducting research on a range of ongoing projects. For more than 40 years, questions on social transformation, social inequalities, historical processes and actors of globalization, democratization processes, transitional justice, politics of memory, peace processes and conflicts in Latin America have been at the center of interdisciplinary research at LAI. The institute also has a long tradition of cooperation and collaboration with Colombian scholars, universities, and research institutes, enabling regular exchange and developing profound research expertise on Colombia in general and pressing questions of the peace process in particular. Details about the current and past research projects, networks, academic courses and publications on Colombia can be found on the “Teaching and Research Focus: Colombia” .
At the LAI, Prof. Marianne Braig, Senior Professor of Political Science, Prof. Markus Hochmüller, Interim Chair of Political Science, and Dr. Mónika Contreras Saiz, director of the research project GUMELAB, are key partners of Instituto CAPAZ. Prof. Hochmüller and Dr. Contreras Saiz represent the LAI in the Instituto CAPAZ consortium.
More information on the GUMELAB project, carried out by LAI researchers, can be found at this link.
Frankfurt
The Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), member of the Leibniz Association, is Germany’s largest peace research institute with more than 80 members of staff. With backgrounds in field like political science, sociology, ethnology, cultural studies and economy, researchers at PRIF analyze the causes of violent international and domestic conflicts, investigate the conditions necessary for peace, and disseminate peaceful approaches to conflict resolution. Key areas of research address the challenges of post-conflict societies, including transitional justice, security sector reform, peacebuilding as well as the role of external actors in intrastate processes of transformation. Research at PRIF is characterized by the dual aim to carry out academic research of the highest quality and to generate and disseminate insights that have political and social relevance. Jonas Wolff, head of the research department “Intrastate Conflict” and member of PRIF’s executive board, represents PRIF in the Governing Board of Instituto CAPAZ. Thilo Marauhn, spokesperson of the German Consortium at CAPAZ also heads the research group “Public International Law” at PRIF.
Visit the PRIF website where the CAPAZ project is mentioned.
Freiburg
Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg (ALU) is in the process of starting a public mental health capacity-building project in cooperation with Universidad Javeriana to meet the demands of the psychosocial needs in the population.
The psychosocial consequences of conflicts present a serious challenge for reconciliation and peaceful coexistence of victims and ex-combatants. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, medically unexplained symptoms and unresolved feelings of anger are common in post-conflict situations and can have a strong influence on interpersonal relationships and can cause cycles of violence among individuals and groups.
From long-standing research experience in post-conflict countries (e.g. Afghanistan), the ALU can contribute to intervention research on capacity building. Capacity building in the primary care setting of the local health units shall be implemented in order to effectively deal with disorders due to stressful living conditions and the experiencing of traumatic events, thus fostering healing and reconciliation.
Associate Members