Countering right-wing extremism in science and at universities. Dealing with extremism in university development and higher education in pedagogical study programmes (Rex-WiHo)

The subject of the joint research project is extreme right-wing tendencies at universities in Germany. On the one hand, extreme right-wing actors claim to be academics; on the other hand, there is discrimination, violence and attacks on entire disciplines. Against this background, the sub-project ‘Right-wing extremist tendencies at universities as a challenge for university development’ at the EUF addresses the existing need for research and action at the level of university development. Research is being conducted into how universities deal with right-wing populism/extremism, options for action are being systematised and recommendations for action are being formulated. Rex-WiHo is a joint project under the direction of Prof. Christina Brüning (Philipps University Marburg), which is being carried out at the Marburg site by Dr. Rebekka Blum with a focus on pedagogical degree programmes (see the sub-project description of the Marburg site).

The following questions guide the research in the sub-project at Europa-Universität Flensburg:

1. How do universities deal with right-wing extremist incidents and what examples of good practice can be derived from this?
2. How do universities act in the field of tension between academic norms (freedom of judgement, academic freedom) and political tasks (anti-discrimination, diversity, equality) and how do they contribute to the promotion of democracy, the prevention of extremism and a resilient democracy?