Subproject 1 of the research group “Horizontal Europeanization. Europe as an emerging social entity between the national and the global sphere” led by Prof. Dr. Martin Heidenreich, Carl-von-Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.

The opening of national, hierarchically structured academic fields goes hand in hand with an Europeanization of academic capitalism: The inequality in terms of researchers, disciplines and universities is increasingly subjected to heightened competition. The institutionalization on a European level accounts for few, though globally visible winners. The theoretical surplus of the research project so far is mainly rooted in a transnational conception of the academic field within the field of power, enabling a both horizontal and comparative perspective on specific national features. This perspective allows for a deeper understanding of the process of the symbolic construction of the European research area (ERA). By analyzing the interplay between national opening and European closure, several findings were gained: On the micro- and meso levels, in particular, a variety of transnational strategies concerning career, third-party funding and respective cooperation have developed, indicating an academic modus operandi that becomes increasingly Europeanized. However, the genesis of an ERA also involves potential conflicts: Based on our current results, further analysis needs to focus especially on transnational academic migration, effects of “brain-drain” and the emergence of a European academic elite.

Homepage of the research group DFG-Forschergruppe.

Project led by Prof. Dr. Richard Münch, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, in cooperation with the Zeppelin University.

Research Associates:
Vincent Gengnagel
Dipl. Soz. Stephanie Beyer (former employee)
Len Ole Schäfer