Research
On-going Projects
Research Initiative "ConTrust: Trust in Conflict - Political Coexistence under Conditions of Uncertainty"
(Funded by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art, Academic Coordinator and Principal Investigator)
Conflicts are inevitable in social contexts, and yet they do not make living together impossible. But where do we get the certainty that disputes will not escalate, that the respective counterpart will abide by rules, that institutions will safeguard us against transgressions, and that the social world as a whole is so stable that we can meaningfully orient our actions in it? The answer is trust. Trust generates an "unsecured security" that can never be fully redeemed and yet constitutes the secret of social coexistence. But how is trust formed, what are its origins?
