The Global-Local Divides and Connections hotspot, better known as GLOCAL, brings together critical scholars who analyse the complex interactions between global and local dimensions in contemporary phenomena. GLOCAL research focuses on issues that, while appearing ‘local,’ reflect broader socio-economic trends and global processes—including conflicts over resources and identities, political violence, global mobility, geo-spatial inequalities, and the geopolitics of borders.
Studying the local manifestations of wider transnational dynamics and global transformations presents unique methodological challenges. The GLOCAL hotspot aims to tackle these challenges through the active involvement of societal stakeholders and the promotion of cooperative, cross-disciplinary research among members with diverse methodological, geographical, and thematic expertise. GLOCAL researchers in turn realize maximum societal impact through the evaluation of past and current policies, active media engagement, and constant dialogue with policy makers.
The GLOCAL hotspot provides a physical and metaphorical space for established and junior scholars to exchange ideas and collaborate on cross-disciplinary, cross-thematic, and cross-geographical research projects. To stimulate cooperation among GLOCAL members and maximize the societal impact of their research, the hotspot also engages in a variety of activities, including guest lectures, seminar series, and writing workshops. GLOCAL also prides itself in providing micro-grants geared primarily towards funding junior scholars’ research that could not otherwise take place, from consulting archives to conducting fieldwork to creating databases.