About CSS
Who are we?
The Center for Sustainable Society Research (CSS) is an interdisciplinary research center of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at Universität Hamburg.
Currently, scientists at all career levels are carrying out research at the CSS in a variety of disciplines including sociology, political science, business, economics, law, and journalism and communication studies.
Renowned funding institutions, particularly the German Research Council (DFG), finance research at the CSS. The CSS takes pride in its clear commitment to criteria of academic excellence and a research profile with a strong international orientation.
| Find out more about the organizational structure of CSS. |
What is our aim?
Research at CSS is interdisciplinary and aims to understand ongoing social, political and economic reconfigurations of modern societies with respect to issues of sustainability and climate change. The CSS contributes to the development of cutting-edge empirical research and theoretical and methodological advancements. The CSS is particularly involved with the reconfigurations induced by climate change, considered a central driver for sustainability transformations.
The CSS researches these reconfigurations towards sustainability by dynamically adapting its research focus. In the coming years, the primary focus of the CSS’s research will be in the fields of:
| Find out more about research at CSS. |
What are we doing?
The scientists at the CSS work together in temporary working groups, where they constantly develop and contribute to the key research topics. Through this innovative collaboration among the members of the CSS, the spectrum of topics is constantly expanding and evolving.
The acquisition of third-party funding projects, including in research consortia, is only one example of the results of these cooperations.
The CSS furthermore guides and participates in international research programs, organizes international conferences and workshops, and invites distinguished foreign researchers to speak at lecture series and be guest researchers at the University.
The CSS presently contributes to the German Cluster of Excellence “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society” (CLICCS) (external Link) as well as to the Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies “Futures of Sustainability: Modernization, Transformation, Control” (external Link) (DFG FOR 2769) . The Research Group on Sustainable Finance at Universität Hamburg, whose goal is to highlight the role of financial markets and investments for sustainability in business practices, is also involved with the CSS.
In addition, by expanding non-material support to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, the CSS makes a significant contribution to the development of young academics at Universität Hamburg’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
Development of the CSS
Since its establishment in 2004 (as the Centre for Globalisation and Governance, CGG), the Center has been instrumental in increasing the international visibility of research carried out at Universität Hamburg’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
With the conclusion of the cluster appointment "Sustainability" at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences as well as further new appointments, the thematic orientation of the CGG in some parts no longer met the needs of its members and the faculty.
Therefore, since 2017, the center has undergone a process of development in terms of content and organization. In terms of content, the focus has shifted from topics relating to globalization, global governance and welfare state research to topics relating to sustainability in its various forms. The organizational structure of the Center has been made more flexible by the introduction of dynamic temporary working groups.
The center was renamed in 2019 to “Center for Sustainable Society Research” (CSS). The renaming was accompanied by the adoption of a new statute and a revision of the homepage.
The CSS now contributes to the topic of sustainability as a defining profile element and cross-sectional theme of Universität Hamburg.
