From remembrance culture to inclusion: Hesse promotes innovative democracy research

"Making democracy resilient against extremism and polarization is one of the most urgent tasks of our time. Science and research make a decisive contribution to this," says Science Minister Timon Gremmels. "The funded projects demonstrate the potential and wide range of democracy research. They strengthen the democratic culture, the open dialog between citizens, politics and science - and thus the future viability of democracy in Hesse. The selection process is also important to us: external experts and the independent program advisory board from outside Hesse ensure a science-led procedure."

The projects were applied for in two funding lines. With the "Hessian Science Networks" line, the Ministry of Science is strengthening the networking of researchers in Hesse who are working together on innovative topics in democracy research. The "Hessen Monitor" line promotes the scientific development of conceptual foundations for a representative population survey on polarization, urban-rural contrasts, satisfaction with democracy, trust in institutions and democratic resilience.

The three projects involving Kassel are being funded under the "Hessian Science Networks" funding line.

"Contested history(ies)", coordination University of Kassel, funding 13,492 euros

Democratic cultures of remembrance are coming under increasing pressure worldwide. The research network "Umkämpfte Geschichte(n)" (Contested Histories) of the University of Kassel, Philipps University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen is investigating the effects of historical revisionist currents in Germany, Argentina and Spain. The researchers want to find out how new-right movements systematically question established images of history and cultures of remembrance and attack progressive achievements of democratic societies.

"Gendering Democratic Resilience", Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, 11,238 euros

Gender, diversity and gender-democratic achievements are at the center of attacks on many democracies. This tension requires a scientific examination of gender issues and democracy research in order to counteract anti-democratic and discriminatory forces. The GeViDem knowledge network, in which the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences cooperates with the Justus Liebig University Giessen, the University of Kassel, the Philipps University Marburg and the Goethe University Frankfurt, bundles existing Hessian research activities and expertise on the relationship between democracy and gender relations.

"Inclusive and barrier-free democracy", University of Kassel, 30,683 euros

People with disabilities can be excluded from social engagement and democratic participation if there are barriers or if they are not trusted to engage. Inclusive democracy is a requirement of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the German Basic Law. Attempts have been made in recent years to implement this with commissioners and advisory boards at federal, state and local level. The knowledge network is intended to compile findings from science and questions from practice in order to open up the topic for research and politics. This concerns, for example, issues of accessibility to political information on the web, online elections or participation in local councils. The University of Kassel is in charge of the project. It is working together with the University of Fulda and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.

Note: The University of Kassel is hosting the opening event of the "Democracy Research in Dialogue" series of talks. It is entitled "Resilient democracy through participation - What perspectives does science offer?" and will take place on June 10, 2025 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Gießhaus of the University of Kassel, Mönchebergstraße 5. Participants include Minister Timon Gremmels, University President Prof. Dr. Ute Clement and scientist Prof. Dr. Felix Welti.