Forum Transregional Studien

The Forum Transregionale Studien networks various research institutions in Berlin and Germany that are dedicated to regional studies. It supports projects that approach questions comparatively across several regions of the world.

People at an event in the rotunda of the Altes Museum

The first general meeting of the Forum Transregionale Studien took place in the rotunda of the Altes Museum in 2011 © Yehuda Swed

The Forum Transregionale Studien aims to contribute to a substantive internationalization of the humanities and social sciences in Germany. It supports research programs and initiatives that combine systematic and region-specific issues and pursue them from a transregional perspective. This research approach takes the increasing interdependence of countries and regions in a globalized world into account.

In the Forum's programs, "Europe in the Middle East - The Middle East in Europe", "Prisma Ukraïna" and "re:constitution", postdoctoral fellows from different countries work for one academic year each on their own research topics and on overarching questions of their programs, such as questions of interconnections and border demarcations between Europe and the Middle East, the effects of migration and war in Eastern Europe on memory, history, and cohesion, or the constitution and future of democracy and the rule of law in Europe. The fellows are involved in academic projects at universities and scientific institutions in Berlin, other German states and other European countries. With SYRASP and BEYONDREST, the Forum is running two ERC (European Research Council) projects, which deal with questions of prison narratives in Syria and the restitution of art and cultural assets in and from the Middle East. Furthermore, it is involved in initiatives and projects such as the "Merian Center for Advanced Study in the Maghreb" (MECAM) in Tunis and the research college "European Times/Europäische Zeiten" (EUTIM), for which it takes on tasks of transregional scholarly communication, enabling, translating and mediating collaboration between researchers from different viewpoints and locations.

The Forum Transregionale Studien is an association. It is supported by universities and research institutions from Berlin and the whole of Germany. The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz is a member of the Forum, which was founded in 2009. Since 2021, it has been institutionally funded by the state of Berlin. The President of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Hermann Parzinger, was chairman of the General Assembly until 2022 and is a member of the Board of Trustees.