Ad hoc working groups
The Academy’s ad hoc working groups are established for three years to investigate topics with social, political and scientific relevance. They organise networking events for various stakeholders in society and use multimedia distribution and position papers to share the views of the scientific community in public debate.
Neo-imperialism as a Contemporary Challenge
The ad hoc working group “Neo-imperialism as a Contemporary Challenge” analyzes the neo-imperial strategies of Russia, China, and the United States against the backdrop of a shaken international order. It examines the pursuit of prestige, competition for power, and imperial self-concepts, as well as the historical narratives used to legitimize domination and expansion. Methodologically, it combines comparative, interdisciplinary research with structured dialogue formats involving parliamentarians. The goal is policy-oriented research and a direct transfer of research findings into policy and the public sphere.
Artificial intelligence in medicine
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is opening up new opportunities in medicine. The ad hoc working group “AI in medicine” brings together representatives from science, politics, healthcare and business to advance this future trend in Bavaria and put forward several recommendations for action.
Judaism in Bavaria
Building on earlier research on Jewish communities in Munich, Franconia, Swabia and the Upper Palatinate, the ad hoc working group “Judaism in Bavaria” provides a broad impression of Jewish life in Bavaria up to the present day through public lectures, podcasts, films, video interviews, podium discussions and an interactive map.
Future values
The ad hoc working group “Future values” was dedicated to examining key social values that face a wide range of challenges, e.g. from digitalisation and social media, nationalism and populism, migration, or the questioning or loss of significance of institutions that create and foster values. The research focused on three pairs of values and the tensions associated with them: freedom and security, the common interest and self-interest, and multiculturalism and identity.
Factuality of the world
The ad hoc working group “Factuality of the world” addressed the subject of post-truth politics. The often deliberate denial of reality in political discourse poses just as much of a challenge to science as the merely negligent handling of the truth. Against this background, the working group made transparent the methods of critical research focused on constant revision of all levels of knowledge and investigated their significance to the processes shaping and transforming society.
Islam in Bavaria
This ad hoc working group investigated the living environments of Muslim communities in Bavaria with a focus on religion. Its broad scope of research included multiple identities and migration-related issues, as well as issues such as language skills, education, ethnic distinctions and conflicts, communication cultures, general social debate with repercussions for Muslim communities, etc. The working group’s study was the first of its kind to be conducted in a territorial German state.