Research Areas | Department of Inequality, Transformation and Conflict

Director: Steffen Mau

 

Social change and transformation

The research area Change and Transformation investigates processes of social, economic, and political change in contemporary societies. A central focus lies on post-socialist transformations, including the long-term consequences of systemic change in Central and Eastern Europe and in eastern Germany. The research further examines how digitalization and mediatization reshape social relations, institutions, and forms of inequality. By combining historical, comparative, and process-oriented perspectives, the research analyzes how large-scale structural transformations are experienced in everyday life and translated into new social practices, conflicts, and mentalities. Its aim is to understand the drivers, trajectories, and social consequences of transformative change across different societal contexts.

Selected publications

Inequality and social structure

The research area Inequality and Social Structure examines the origins, dynamics, and consequences of social inequalities in modern societies. It focuses on class, labor market, and gender inequalities, as well as their intersections with migration, social origin, and life courses. The research analyzes status, material resources and symbolic dimensions of social recognition and power. Its aim is to understand the social structures that unequally distribute opportunities and risks, and to show how social inequality shapes social cohesion, political orientation, and life prospects.

Selected publications

  • Lux, Thomas, Steffen Mau, Linus Westheuser (forthcoming): Bodenständige gegen Weltoffene? Lebensführung und Polarisierung in Deutschland. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie
  • Westheuser, Linus, and Linda Beck. 2025. Moral disapproval: The political consciousness of the demobilized working class. Critical Sociology: 08969205251353116.
  • Mau, Steffen, Thomas Lux, and Linus Westheuser. 2023. Triggerpunkte: Konsens und Konflikt in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft. Berlin: Suhrkamp (English translation https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/triggerpoints and French translation forthcoming).
  • Heide, Julian. 2023. Testfall Armut. Zum Zusammenhang von Ungleichheitseinstellungen und sozialer Lage. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 75(2): 117-142.
  • Lux, Thomas. 2022. Die AfD-Wahlabsicht aus ungleichheitssoziologischer Perspektive. Soziale Welt 73(1): 67-104.
  • Mau, Steffen, Thomas Lux, and Fabian Gülzau. 2020. Die drei Arenen der neuen Ungleichheitskonflikte. Eine sozialstrukturelle Positionsbestimmung der Einstellungen zu Umverteilung, Migration und sexueller Diversität. Berliner Journal für Soziologie 30(3): 317-346.
  • Heuer, Jan-Ocko, Thomas Lux, Steffen Mau, and Katharina Zimmermann. 2020. Legitimizing inequality: The moral repertoires of meritocracy in four countries. Comparative Sociology 19(4-5): 542-584.
Social and political conflict

The research area Social and Political Conflicts develops a political sociology of public divides in affluent democracies. It focuses on the social foundations of political disagreement, the transformation of political cleavages, polarization, and the (de-)politicization of inequality. Empirically, the research examines conflicts over distribution and welfare, migration and belonging, ecological transformation, and gender and identity. A central aim is to explain why some conflicts become politically salient while others remain latent. Particular attention is paid to how political actors reorganize contemporary conflict structures and how class, education, and gender cleavages intersect or reinforce one another.

Selected publications

  • Westheuser, Linus, and Delia Zollinger. 2025. Cleavage theory meets Bourdieu: Studying the role of group identities in cleavage formation. European Political Science Review 17(1): 110-127.
  • Westheuser, Linus, Steffen Mau, and Thomas Lux. 2025. Das Klima der Ungleichheit. Zur sozialen Struktur von Klimakonflikten. Berliner Journal für Soziologie 35(2): 339-354.
  • Damhuis, Koen, and Linus Westheuser. 2024. Cleavage politics in ordinary reasoning: How common sense divides. European Societies 26(4): 1195-1231.
  • Mau, Steffen, Thomas Lux, and Linus Westheuser. 2023. Triggerpunkte: Konsens und Konflikt in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft. Berlin: Suhrkamp. (English translation: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/triggerpoints  and French translation forthcoming).
  • Mau, Steffen. 2022. Kamel oder Dromedar? Zur Diagnose der gesellschaftlichen Polarisierung. Merkur 76(874): 5-18.
  • Lux, Thomas, Steffen Mau, and Aljoscha Jacobi. 2022. Neue Ungleichheitsfragen, neue Cleavages? Ein internationaler Vergleich der Einstellungen in vier Ungleichheitsfeldern. Berliner Journal für Soziologie 32(2): 173-212.
Migration and borders

The research area Migration and Borders examines patterns, causes, and consequences of migration and cross-border mobility in contemporary societies. It focuses on the social, economic, and political integration of migrants and analyzes migration background as a key determinant of social positions and political orientations. A central concern is the study of borders and border regimes, including practices of border control and their selectivity as a dimension of social inequality. The research further investigates state practices of deportation and their implications for rights, belonging, and social cohesion. Overall, the research aims to understand how migration and borders shape inequalities, political conflict, and processes of inclusion and exclusion.

Projects

C01 | The Borders of the World II: Conflicts and Tensions in the Formation of Macro-Territorial Borders 


Selected publications

  • Cusmano, M. (forthcoming). Generation Matters: The Role of Migration and Generational Status for Distributive Justice Attitudes. Social Justice Research.
  • Biaback Anong, D., & Perko, Z. 2025. Free movement and the global colour line: origin-based stratification and race in regional mobility regimes. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
  • Petermann, S., Schönwälder, K., Harris, E., & Cusmano, M. (2025). Diffuse Vielfalt: Migration in individuellen Wahrnehmungen und Kategorisierungen. Soziale Welt, 76(3), 215-243.
  • Perko, Z., & Biaback Anong, D. 2025. Regional free movement. Ongoing spatial conflicts between macroterritorial and national levels—A case study of ECOWAS, the EU, and Mercosur. In Knoblauch, H., Sommer, V., & Pfetsch, B. (eds.), Spatial Conflicts and Conflictual Spaces. The Dynamics of Refiguration (p. 49-70). London: Routledge.
  • Mau, Steffen. 2021. Sortiermaschinen. Die Neuerfindung der Grenze im 21. Jahrhundert. C.H. Beck: München.  (English translation: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Sorting+Machines%3A+The+Reinvention+of+the+Border+in+the+21st+Century-p-9781509554362; French translation: https://www.editions-msh.fr/livre/la-reinvention-de-la-frontiere-au-xxie-siecle/)
  • Taubenböck, Hannes, Christoph Otto, Fabian Gülzau, and Steffen Mau. 2023. Border regions across the globe: Analyzing border typologies, economic and political disparities, and development dynamics. Applied Geography 151: 102866.
  • Gülzau, Fabian, and Steffen Mau. 2021. Walls, barriers, checkpoints, landmarks, and "no-man's-land": A quantitative typology of border control infrastructure. Historical Social Research 46(3): 23-48.
  • Gülzau, Fabian, Steffen Mau, and Natascha Zaun. 2016. Regional mobility spaces? Visa waiver policies and regional integration. International Migration 54(6): 164-180.

 

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