Within the KonKoop Research Network we look at conflict and cooperation in Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War. Nowhere else in the world have there been so many wars of secession – some of them unresolved to this day – and newly founded states. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is the latest shocking example. We strive to identify how conflicts arise in Eastern Europe, which actors are involved and which factors contribute to escalation and de-escalation, but also which conditions guarantee security or enable cooperation. As an interdisciplinary research network, KonKoop can draw on wide-ranging expertise from the fields of political science, geography, history and environmental sciences.

The network aims to develop innovative modules for methodology, training and science communication based on the research conducted at the partner institutions. In this way, KonKoop is helping to raise the profile of German peace and conflict research on Eastern Europe and increase its international visibility. Since the launch of the network, KonKoop has become an authority in academic, public and political discourse.

The modules are developed by the network coordinator at ZOiS and three overarching laboratories: The multi-method Data Laboratory (DataLab) based at ZOiS is an interdisciplinary platform that processes and connects quantitative and qualitative research data. It supports researchers and tests novel methods for analysing research data. The multi-perspective Laboratory for Peace and Conflict Cartography (VisLab) located at IfL explores how cooperation partners and conflict parties represent their specific interests by means of maps. On this basis it develops and tests visualisations (maps, infographics or artistic graphic (online) tools) that represent conflicting or multiple interests. The Early Career Lab (EC-Lab) located at IOS collates the experiences gained in KonKoop’s early career work and adapts it for the German research landscape. In close contact with the partner institutions, it also tests the modules created by the other labs in various settings.

The modules are based on the research done by KonKoop’s doctoral students, post-docs and established researchers. The many detailed studies and comparative qualitative and quantitative analyses are organised into six topic lines and in involve our different external partners.