News

Neue Assoziierte: Sharri Plonski und Anna Fünfgeld

rs — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 07:42:48 +0000

New Associated Researchers: Sharri Plonski and Anna Fünfgeld

08.09.2026

rs Tue, 08.09.2026 - 09:50

The Arnold Bergstraesser Institute welcomes two new associated researchers, Dr. Sharri Plonski and Dr. Anna Fünfgeld.

Dr. Sharri Plonski is a Lecturer in International Politics at Queen Mary University of London. She joined the ABI in the summer of 2026 as a Mercator Fellow and a guest of the Emmy Noether Project ‘Renewable Energies, Renewed Authoritarianism? The Political Economy of Solar Energy in the MENA Region’.

Sharri Plonski’s research focuses on settler colonialism, anti-colonial struggles, border dynamics, and material infrastructures. Her work explores the material and imagined geographies of colonial infrastructures, with a particular focus on how new mega-infrastructure projects are used as part of Israel’s normalization project in South East Asia and North Africa (SWANA).

During her stay, Sharri worked with the Emmy Noether Group on a special issue on ‘The Politics of the “Global Energy Transition” in Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA)’ and organised a joint reading seminar. The whole group is also taking part in this year’s conference of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO).

Dr. Anna Fünfgeld is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Sociology at the University of Hamburg and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Cluster of Excellence “Climate, Climatic Change and Society” (CLICCS). In 2024, the ABI awarded her the Arnold Bergstraesser Prize for her doctoral thesis, ‘No Power to Change? Energy Hegemony and Trasformismo in Indonesia’.

Anna Fünfgeld’s research focuses on socio-ecological transformation, energy and climate policy, climate justice, infrastructure research, conflicts over natural resources, gender and masculinities, social movements, right-wing politics, and critical political economy. Her regional areas of focus include Indonesia and Southeast Asia, Brazil and South America, South Africa, and Germany and Europe.

News Type:

General News

Team

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene visits ABI from the University of Ghana

ct — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:26:15 +0000

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene visits ABI from the University of Ghana

07.09.2026

ct Mon, 07.09.2026 - 11:26

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene spent June to August 2026 at ABI.

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene, Senior Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy at the University of Ghana, has spent three months (June-August) at ACT and ABI in Freiburg as a guest researcher.

In a short Q&A, she shares her expectations towards and insights from her stay.

What is your story with ACT/ABI?

My connection with Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT), Arnold Bergstrasser Institut (ABI) and the University of Freiburg began through my collaboration with Dr. Tim Glawion in 2025. Between August and December, we co-convened the 13th Interdisciplinary Fellow Group (IFG 13) of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) at the University of Ghana. That experience not only fostered a productive academic partnership but also led to my Guest Researcher Fellowship at the ABI and the ACT at the University of Freiburg, Germany. It has been a meaningful journey, enriched by the support, insights, and collegiality of Tim and many outstanding colleagues I have had the pleasure of engaging with.

What did you aim for during your stay, what was your expectation, and which project did you work on?

During my stay, I aimed to advance our IFG working paper in collaboration with Tim and our IFG colleagues. One of my key expectations was to engage with scholars and practitioners working on Africa-related research, receive constructive feedback on our work, and strengthen academic collaborations. We achieved this by presenting our paper at the conference African Perspectives on Global Transformation, held from 26 to 28 August 2026 in Basel, Switzerland. The conference was jointly organized by the Swiss Society for African Studies (SGAS/SSEA) and the Association for African Studies in Germany (VAD) and hosted by the ZASB Research Network Africa at the University of Basel. Following the conference, we participated in a post-VAD working workshop, where we reflected on the feedback received and further refined the working paper.

In addition, I used the opportunity to advance my research on the gendered implications of political, social, and security developments for men, women, boys, and girls in Africa. My work explored how different interventions address these challenges while contributing to sustainable peace. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing inclusive and effective policies that promote long-term stability, social cohesion, and peacebuilding across the continent.

I also had the opportunity to present my own working paper at the Africa Talk public lecture held on 22 June 2026 at the University of Freiburg. This presentation was followed by a valuable peer review from Prof. Andreas Mehler, the Director of ABI, whose feedback helped strengthen the conceptual and analytical foundations of the paper.

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene, Andreas Mehler and Mary B. Setrana at the ABI, August 2026.

What was your main take-away from your stay?

My stay in Freiburg was an invaluable experience, both academically and personally. I made significant progress in my research, expanded my network, and explored possibilities for future collaborative publications. Working with scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds exposed me to fresh perspectives that will continue to shape my research and professional growth.

One more thing I appreciate most, is the spirit of collegiality at the ABI. The Monday Morning Meetings, in particular, created a sense of community, intellectual exchange, and support that will stay with me long after my departure.

News Type:

General News

PolMig Projekt: Einblicke in die Forschung auf YouTube

rs — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:00:07 +0000

PolMig project: reflections from fieldwork now on Youtube

01.09.2026

rs Tue, 01.09.2026 - 13:04

PolMig Fieldwork Diaries – now on YouTube!

Returning from the first phase of fieldwork across Africa, the PolMig (“The Political Lives of Migrants: Perspectives from Africa”) team members share their reflections and experiences from the field.

Across five short episodes, every team member looks back on their time in the field, sharing an unexpected takeaway, an amusing anecdote and three words that best capture their experience. Each episode offers a glimpse into the reality of doing research in different context, from memorable encounters and unexpected challenges to small moments that make the fieldwork particularly rewarding.

Franzisca Zanker speaks on her fieldwork experience and her first return to Liberia after more than ten years, Sophia Stille reflects on her experiences and challenges of her time in Liberia and Malawi, Edwin Mutyenyoka and Constantin Herburger share stories from their fieldwork in Kenya, and Jamila Hamidu offers an insight into what it was like conducting her first theater workshop in Ghana.

A playlist containing all five videos is available on the ABI YouTube channel.

First insight into the video with Franzisca Zanker:

News Type:

General News

Philipp Wagner on the UAE: War, Energy and Security Risks

jl — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:16:55 +0000

Philipp Wagner on the UAE: War, Energy and Security Risks

31.08.2026

jl Mon, 31.08.2026 - 10:16

The UAE's Exposure to Regional Conflict

In a feature for Atlas Broadcasting, ABI staff member Philipp Wagner analyses how the regional war between the United States and Iran exposed the UAE’s security and energy vulnerabilities.

As a close US ally, the UAE became a target of Iranian drone and missile strikes, while its diplomatic outreach to Iran signalled a push for de-escalation. A central concern is the Iranian drone attack near Abu Dhabi’s Barakah nuclear power plant, which provides up to a quarter of the UAE’s electricity. While the UAE relies on alternative sources of electricity generation, including expanding solar and wind capacity, Wagner stresses that the “symbolic dimension of the May 2026 drone attack should not be underestimated” and that the strike shows “how nuclear facilities are regularly weaponised in military conflict”.

Wagner also points to the economic fallout from the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping insurance costs spiked and UAE oil and gas exports were cut back. While exports have since recovered, he notes that “investors have partially regained confidence in sectors such as the UAE’s real estate and energy markets following the ceasefire, though it remains fragile”.

Read the article on the Atlas Broadcasting website.

News Type:

Contributions in Media

Anas Ansar on Bangladesh's politics of memory

jl — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:15:55 +0000

Anas Ansar on Bangladesh's politics of memory

27.08.2026

jl Thu, 27.08.2026 - 15:15

The art of agreeing to disagree about history

In an article for The Daily Star, ABI staff member Anas Ansar reflects on Bangladesh's fraught relationship with its own political history.

August, he argues, has become the most contested month in the national calendar: it marks the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, the July uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina's rule on August 5, 2024, and the birthday of the country's first elected woman prime minister, Khaleda Zia.

For Ansar, the real challenge is not which events Bangladesh remembers, but whether it can do so "without turning remembrance into political ownership." Pointing to recent incidents of intimidation at Dhaka's Dhanmondi 32, he warns that when every act of mourning becomes a declaration of political allegiance, a country divides not only its history but its citizens. As he puts it, "the freedom to remember is inseparable from the freedom to disagree." A mature democracy must be spacious enough to hold competing memories together — a test he sees as central to Bangladesh's new democratic journey.

Read the article on The Daily Star's website.

News Type:

Contributions in Media

Bangladesh

Neue IQAS Ausgabe: Youth Movements against Authoritarianism in Asia, Part I

rs — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:12:32 +0000

New IQAS Issue: Youth Movements against Authoritarianism in Asia, Part I

24.08.2026

jl Mon, 24.08.2026 - 14:45

International Quarterly for Asian Studies, Vol. 57 No. 1

This issue titled "Youth Movements against Authoritarianism in Asia, Part I" is edited by ABI staff members Anas Ansar and Teresa Jopson in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation. It is tightly connected to the project "From Campus to Confrontation: Youth Activism against Authoritarianism in Asia" which was realized at the ABI from March to November 2025. The issue is a product of an author's workshop carried out as part of the project. In total, 24 participants attended, including contributors from 10 Asian countries.

Asia is home to approximately one billion youth aged 10 to 24 years – 60% of the world's young people. In recent years, the frequency with which students and the youth have been at the forefront of political and social movements across Asia has captured the world’s attention. Movements such as the pan-Asian "Milk Tea Alliance", the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and the 2024 student and youth uprising in Bangladesh and Nepal signal a new wave of youth activism which reshape the political landscape across Asia.

By drawing on diverse disciplinary approaches and case studies, the collection of articles in this issue traces the evolving nature of these youth mobilizations and develops a nuanced understanding of resistance from below. Taken together, they demonstrate that youth movements are neither ephemeral moments of generational dissent nor isolated national phenomena. Rather, they are politically consequential and increasingly interconnected forms of collective action that challenge entrenched structures of power while reimagining alternative political futures.

Find the new issue here (Open Access).

Selected articles

Blackout Rebellion: Resource Mobilisation Strategies during the Internet Shutdown of the July 2024 Uprising in Bangladesh
Md Akmal Hossain
A Playlist for the Revolution: Protest Music in Youth-Led Movements in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea
Van Phuc Nguyen, Miriam Bartolozzi

IQAS (International Quarterly for Asian Studies) has been Germany's leading academic journal on Asia since 1970. It provides a forum for multidisciplinary research on current and historical topics relevant to politics, economics and society in contemporary Asia. It seeks to make the results of social science research on Asia known to a broader public discourse about Asia. The contributions are intended for a public aware that the world's regions and cultures have always been interlinked and, thus, need to be understood in relation to one another. The journal appears quarterly or semi-annually as a double issue in print and an open-access version. The journal is published by the ABI.

All issues are available open access on the website of IQAS.

News Type:

General News

IQAS
Asia

Miriam Bartelmann zu transfeministischen Kämpfen um Wasser

rs — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:05:11 +0000

Miriam Bartelmann on Transfeminist Struggle over Water

24.08.2026

jl Mon, 24.08.2026 - 16:24

Which Water will you drink?

In this article in the current issue of Freiburg's iz3w-magazine, ABI staff member Miriam Bartelmann examines transfeminist struggles over water through the example of the Río Feminista network (eng.: "feminist river") in Argentina’s Paraná Delta.

The current Argentine government, led by Javier Milei, is intensifying environmental destruction and consequently its social consequences. External economic interests are becoming increasingly influential, while local resistance is becoming more difficult. At a time when local and global elites are placing their hopes in technological development to provide solutions to socio-ecological conflicts, the Río Feminista (RF) network takes a different view: "Water is in everything. If we do not protect it, there is no future. Which artificial intelligence do you want to drink to quench your thirst?"

In the article, Bartelmann examines the network’s work and perspective: "Transfeminism shapes [...] RF’s perspective. Rooted in a critique of binary ways of thinking, a transfeminist perspective encourages us to consider gender as well as social and ecological issues in their interconnectedness. It seeks to transcend binary worldviews and thematic boundaries that also separate social movements from one another [...]. For RF, water serves as an element that connects territorial struggles against imperialism and the exploitation of resources. Humans, animals and nature all depend on water."

Against the backdrop of recent developments, including an amendment to the law protecting glaciers, which previously imposed restrictions on mining, the network’s work is gaining further relevance: "RF’s present and future work also consists in not losing hope and in demonstrating solidarity. In certain contexts, simply believing in the possibility of alternative futures and in peace is already a radical act."

The article is available in German on the iz3w website.

News Type:

Contributions in Media

Americas

Professor Mary B. Setrana von der Universität Ghana am ABI

ct — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:12:26 +0000

Professor Mary B. Setrana visits ABI from the University of Ghana

24.08.2026

ct Mon, 24.08.2026 - 12:22

Professor Mary B. Setrana, Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana, has spent the month of August at ACT and ABI in Freiburg as an alumna of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA).

In a short Q&A, she shares her expectations towards and insights from her stay.

What is your story with ACT/ABI?

My story with ACT/ABI began with the implementation of MIASA in 2018. I was a junior fellow and part of the first cohort of MIASA fellows, focused on migration. Then, I was a lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Centre for Migration Studies. As a MIASA fellow, I worked closely with colleagues from ACT/ABI: Stefan Rother and Franzisca Zanker. Franzisca and I were in the Migrant Representation working group. I got to know Andreas Mehler, he is one of the MIASA Directors. Since then, I have worked with colleagues through MIASA, Research Projects, AMMODI, etc.

What did you aim for during your stay, what was your expectation, and which project did you work on?

My aim was to reconnect with colleagues, learn more about ABI’s work, and work with Franzisca and the PolMig-Team. Also, I wanted to make time for research and independent work. Since I came to ABI, I have reviewed some of my unfinished manuscripts. Franzisca and I have worked on comments from editors on two of our manuscripts. The first manuscript is a discussion piece on Possibilities of a Feminist Migration Future; the second manuscript focuses on Externalisation from an African Feminist Perspective.

Regarding my expectations, I look forward to participating in the African Perspectives on Global Transformations, SGAS/SSEA & VAD Conference in Basel from 26–28 August 2026. Franzisca and I are on a panel on Afro-Feminist Approaches to Research, Policy and Practice. We hope to contribute to ongoing discussions on Afro-feminist approaches to research, policy and practice and strengthen the connections and collaborations developed at ABI.

What was your main take-away from your stay?

Generally, I have found ABI to be fruitful because of the diversity and interactive environment. I have enjoyed the academic serenity, which provides a calm pace for critical writing, thinking, and general work. The discussion on Afrocentricity at the pre-conference event has created space for re-learning and unlearning what it means to research in, on and about Africa. Such co-creation among scholars from different parts of Europe and Africa makes the Afrocentricity concept accessible to those interested in applying it.

News Type:

General News

Team

Fabricio Rodríguez zu Rohstoffkonflikten im Globalen Süden

rs — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 10:35:37 +0000

Fabricio Rodríguez on natural resource conflicts in the Global South

20.08.2026

rs Thu, 20.08.2026 - 12:45

Research meets education: energy transition and natural resource conflicts in the Global South

The current issue of the KlimaWandelBar journal features an article by ABI staff member Fabricio Rodríguez on energy transition and natural resource conflicts in the Global South.

The article sheds light on a central, yet rarely considered dimension of the global energy transition: the expansion of sustainable energy and climate-friendly technologies increases the demand of natural resources and places part of its social and ecologic consequences in Global South countries that are rich in natural resources. Using the example of Latin America, Rodríguez shows how different conflicts relate to the mining and using of raw materials, and why a sustainable energy transition is not solely dependent on the choice of the energy source or techonology involved. What is more important are questions of the conditions under which raw materials are mined, who can decide how they are used, and if local communities are acknowledged as actors and integrated in the subsequent transformation processes.

The article is available on the website of the University of Education Freiburg.

KlimaWandelBar is a journal for teachers and educators with the aim to make insights from research on sustainable development education and climate education accessible for teaching and education purposes.

KlimaWandelBar is edited by Vanessa Aeschbach, Christian Hörsch and Jennifer Stemmann for the Research Center for Climate Change Education and Education for Sustainable Development (ReCCE), a central scientific institution of the University of Education Freiburg.

News Type:

Contributions in Media

Helga Dickow über interreligiösen Dialog im Tschad

ct — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:56:16 +0000

Helga Dickow on interfaith dialogue in Chad

20.08.2026

ct Thu, 20.08.2026 - 11:08

Interfaith dialogue with the state’s blessing

In an article for the online publication Weltsichten Katja Dorothea Buck writes about a new format for interfaith dialogue in Chad. In her piece, she quotes ABI expert Helga Dickow at length.

“At the end of June, representatives of the National Council for Islamic Affairs (CNAIT), the Chadian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Federation of Protestant Churches and Missions established a formal framework for interfaith dialogue in Chad. The newly established platform represents a large proportion of the country’s population of just under 22 million.

Helga Dickow of the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute in Freiburg is sceptical about the formalisation of interfaith cooperation within the new platform, particularly as it stems from a government initiative. Dickow lived in Chad for several years and worked for the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). In autocratically governed Chad, she says, it is a common strategy to gain political control over certain issues through co-optation or the creation of dual structures. “It will be interesting to see who will call the shots in this new organisational structure, who will become chairperson, and whether the statutes provide for a rotation of offices between Muslims and Christians,” says Dickow. None of this is clear yet.

She doubts that the new platform will have any impact on the conflict with Boko Haram on Lake Chad. “Interfaith cooperation has so far always focused on the coexistence of Muslims and Christians in the country, rather than on the question of how to deal with extremist groups.” These groups are active in Chad only in a very limited way in the Lake Chad region. Attacks on army posts occur there from time to time, in which civilians are also killed.

At present, the region is off-limits to the media, meaning that no one can report independently on what the conflict is about and who is involved. “Unofficially, there is also talk of rebels opposing the Déby government,” says Dickow. However, as far as she is aware, the raids in this region have little to do with the conflicts between nomads and the settled population over grazing and arable land, as seen in other countries in the Sahel.”

The article is available in German on the weltsichten-website.

News Type:

Contributions in Media

Chad

News

Neue Assoziierte: Sharri Plonski und Anna Fünfgeld

The Arnold Bergstraesser Institute welcomes two new associated researchers, Dr. Sharri Plonski and Dr. Anna Fünfgeld.

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene visits ABI from the University of Ghana

Afua Boatemaa Yakohene, Senior Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy at the University of Ghana, has spent three months (June-August) at ACT and ABI in Freiburg as a guest researcher.

In a short Q&A, she shares her expectations towards and insights from her stay.

What is your story with ACT/ABI?

What did you aim for during your stay, what was your expectation, and which project did you work on?

What was your main take-away from your stay?

PolMig Projekt: Einblicke in die Forschung auf YouTube

PolMig Fieldwork Diaries – now on YouTube!

First insight into the video with Franzisca Zanker:

Philipp Wagner on the UAE: War, Energy and Security Risks

The UAE's Exposure to Regional Conflict

Anas Ansar on Bangladesh's politics of memory

The art of agreeing to disagree about history

Neue IQAS Ausgabe: Youth Move­ments against Authoritarianism in Asia, Part I

International Quarterly for Asian Studies, Vol. 57 No. 1

Selected articles

Miriam Bartelmann zu transfeministischen Kämpfen um Wasser

Which Water will you drink?

Professor Mary B. Setrana von der Universität Ghana am ABI

Professor Mary B. Setrana, Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana, has spent the month of August at ACT and ABI in Freiburg as an alumna of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA).

In a short Q&A, she shares her expectations towards and insights from her stay.

What is your story with ACT/ABI?

What did you aim for during your stay, what was your expectation, and which project did you work on?

What was your main take-away from your stay?

Fabricio Rodríguez zu Rohstoffkonflikten im Globalen Süden

Research meets education: energy transition and natural resource conflicts in the Global South

Helga Dickow über interreligiösen Dialog im Tschad

Interfaith dialogue with the state’s blessing

In an article for the online publication Weltsichten Katja Dorothea Buck writes about a new format for interfaith dialogue in Chad. In her piece, she quotes ABI expert Helga Dickow at length.

Neue IQAS Ausgabe: Youth Movements against Authoritarianism in Asia, Part I