Core themes

CFGS research and public engagement build upon our researchers’ expertise in four core themes: 

Governance

Research oriented toward governance understood both in institutional and informal terms, including forms of governance not usually associated with the nation-state or other conventional political institutions and community processes where the local and global are tightly interwoven.

Social and Ecological Justice

Research engaged with social problems related to large scale political and environmental changes including themes around decolonization and reconciliation, globalization, mass migration, economic exploitation, and new forms of community governance institutions.

Culture and Identity

Research focused on changes in ethnic, religious and national cultures in a globalizing world and the challenges and opportunities posed by social and cultural forms spawned by new individual and collective identities. 

Environmental Challenges

Research concerned with increasingly critical global environmental crises such as climate change, pandemics, and energy and water scarcity.