In addition to the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (TRAWOS Institute, headed by Prof. Dr. Raj Kollmorgen), the Universtity Leipzig (headed by Dr. Lars Vogel und Prof. Dr. Astid Lorenz) and the Friedrich-Schiller-University (headed by Prof. Dr. Marion Reiser) are involved in the project.
The presence of large social groups - such as East Germans - in leadership positions below their share of the population indicates that they have fewer opportunities to access elite positions. This personal underrepresentation is a central political challenge because it highlights and makes visible unequal opportunities for political and social participation as if under a magnifying glass.
The goal of the overall project is to:
TRAWOS will focus on the holders of typical pinhole positions in order to record the processes that enable or prevent their further advancement. In addition to interviews with holders of elite positions and those who can (still) be classified as sub-elite, expert interviews will be conducted with personnel managers, among others, in order to be able to include the "opposite side" in the analysis. The primary surveys will be supplemented by an analysis of secondary material in the form of (auto-)biographical, (semi)fictional and scientific writings that deal with East-West differences in terms of mentalities, values and capital resources.
The joint project, which will run from 08/2022 - 07/2025, is funded by the Minister of State for East Germany and Equivalent Living Conditions.
Mara Börjesson
