Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Researcher / Curator - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 The Department of Geography at the University of Bonn and Futurium are partnering on the Z05 project “Negotiating African Futures: an exhibition project” of

Vacancy:

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher / Curator (100%) (f/m/d) for our exhibition project "Negotiating African Futures" @unibonn.bsky.social @futuriumd.bsky.social.

More➡️ crc-trr228.de/call-for-app...

RVI’s Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) empowers #Ethiopian women in peace & conflict studies through collaboration, mentorship & research support, amplifying voices & fostering inclusive, evidence based approaches to peacebuilding.

Learn more: tinyurl.com/ysd42m46

Harnessing of Steam: Geothermal Energy, Ancillary Infrastructure and Scalar Challenges in Kenya - Webinar with Clemens Greiner - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Thu | March 26th, 2026 | 15:00 (SAST)

Webinar:

Harnessing of Steam: Geothermal Energy, Ancillary Infrastructure and Scalar Challenges in Kenya.

Clemens Greiner shares insights of his research in our subproject C02 "Energy Futures" at Stellenbosch University.

📅 26 March 2026
🕒 15:00 (SAST)

More ➡️ crc-trr228.de/harnessing-o...

Railway Construction and Changing Conflict Dynamics in Kilosa, Tanzania - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Conrad Schetter, Lucy Massoi and Venance Shillingi (Project B03 "Violent Futures") analyse conflict dynamics between Parakuyo pastoralists and Kaguru and

New Publication:

Conrad Schetter, Lucy Massoi and Venance Shillingi @bicc.de analyse conflict dynamics in the context of the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kilosa, Tanzania.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/railway-cons...

Using assemblage theory, bicc PhD researcher Evelyn Atieno Owino demonstrates how devolution has transformed pastoral violence into a political tool used to police settlement boundaries and consolidate territorial control in northern Kenya’s frontier regions.

New Study Sheds Light on Conservation, Eviction, and Conflict in Kenya’s Mau Forest - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this study, Marie Müller-Koné and Kennedy Mkutu (Project B03 "Violent Futures") examine how state-led forest conservation efforts in Kenya’s Mau

New Publication:

Marie Müller-Koné @bicc.de & Kennedy Mkutu examine how forest evictions, colonial and postcolonial land policies, and shifting land use have shaped today’s intercommunal conflicts in Kenya's Mau Forest.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-study-sh...

Who Gets the Roads? Study Reveals Political Drivers of Infrastructure Investment in Kenya - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this study, Vincent Moseti, Lisa Biber-Freudenberger and Jan Börner (Project A05 "Future Roads") investigate in how far politics influences where roads are

New Publication:

Vincent Moseti, Lisa Biber-Freudenberger & Jan Börner @zefbonn.bsky.social find that electoral dynamics influence where road investments go in Kenya — favoring ruling coalition strongholds and closely contested constituencies.

More here➡️ crc-trr228.de/who-gets-the...

[DE] Menschen­rechte, Naturschutz & Fortress Conservation: Hauke-Peter Vehrs zu Gast im Radiomagazin "südnordfunk" - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Hauke-Peter Vehrs ist Ethnologe und Mitglied unseres Teilprojektes A04 "Future Conservation". Er und seine Kolleg*innen forschen zu Formen des Naturschutzes

Der Kwando-Fluss in Namibias Sambesi gilt als spektakuläre Naturschutzlandschaft. Doch entlang des Flusses lebten früher Gemeinden, die für Nationalparks umgesiedelt wurden.

Hauke Vehrs im Radiomagazin „südland“ über Vertreibung, Geschichte & gemeindebasierten Naturschutz.🎧

➡️ tinyurl.com/2s4zp8h3

New Publication: How Wealth Shapes Farming and Land Quality in Southern Africa - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 This new publication is a collaborative effort of researchers from our sub-project A01 "Future Carbon Storage" Alexandra Sandhage-Hofmann, Liana Kindermann,

New study investigates soil quality and household wealth in Southern Africa:

Wealthier farmers may have preferential access to high-quality agricultural land.

More➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

@giubresearch.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social

African Futures in the Making: New Publication in the Future Rural Africa Book Series - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 African Futures in the Making, edited by Detlef Müller-Mahn (Project C03 "Green Futures") and Michael Bollig (Project A04 "Future Conservation") is the latest

📚New open-access volume: African Futures in the Making

Out in the Future Rural Africa Book Series @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social!

Edited by Detlef Müller-Mahn & Michael Bollig

A multidisciplinary look at how futures are imagined and negotiated in rural Africa.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/african-futu...

"Decolonizing Gaming": Thomas Widlok Awarded GALA Best Paper Award 2025 - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 For his article Decolonizing Gaming, Thomas Widlok (Project C05 "Framing Futures") received the Best Paper Award at the 2025 Games and Learning Alliance

For “Decolonizing Gaming”, Thomas Widlok @unicologne.bsky.social received the Best Paper Award at GALA 2025.

He critiques colonial assumptions in mainstream game design & calls for alternative narratives, shared practices, and marginalized play traditions.

More:
crc-trr228.de/decolonizing...

Beyond Displacement: How Tanzania’s SGR Is Reshaping Maasai Pastoral Life - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this article, Makulangwa Jeremiah Chambo (Mzumbe University) and Lucy Willy Massoi (Project B03 "Violent Futures") examine how the Standard Gauge Railway

New Publication:

Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway isn’t simply displacing Ilparakuyo Maasai pastoralists — it’s reshaping livelihoods and authority through adaptation.

More ➡️ crc-trr228.de/beyond-displ...

When Airports Become Ghosts: New Study Examines Failed Mega-Projects in Africa and Europe - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this new study, researchers Detlef Müller-Mahn (Project C03 "Green Futures"), Evelyne Atieno Owino (Project B03 "Violent Futures") and Theobald Frank

New Publication:

From Kenya to Tanzania and Germany, Detlef Müller-Mahn @giubresearch.bsky.social, Evelyne Owino @bicc.de &Theobald Theodory examine how airports become “ghost projects” — stalled infrastructures that keep shaping regions long after plans unravel.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/when-airport...

Protecting Dryland Rangelands: Grazing Management and Biodiversity Conservation Key to Preventing Plant Invasions - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 This study with participation from Future Rural Africa researchers Liana Kindermann and Anja Linstädter (Project A01 "Future Carbon Storage") focuses on

When and why do non-native plants succeed in dryland rangelands worldwide?

New study with participation of our sub-project A01 "Future Carbon Storage" suggests high grazing pressure + high resource availability create the perfect window for invasion.

Full study:➡️ crc-trr228.de/protecting-d...

@zefbonn.bsky.social

Women's Off-Farm Employment Leads to Increased Dietary Quality in Rural Africa - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Chrispinus Mutsami, Martin C. Parlasca and Matin Qaim form sub-project C08 "Job Futures" examined whether women’s off-farm employment in rural Tanzania and

New Publication:

Women’s off-farm employment in rural Tanzania and Zambia is associated with improved dietary quality, can help increase household income & reduce widespread gender gaps.

Read the full article by Chrispinus Mutsami, Martin C. Parlasca and Matin Qaim:

crc-trr228.de/womens-off-f...

OnlineFirst - "The wilderness fetish: The mystification of nature conservation in the age of capital" by Clemens Greiner and Manuel Standop:

@unicologne.bsky.social
@unibonn.bsky.social
@plaasuwc.bsky.social
@crctrr228.bsky.social

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

@unibonn.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social @giubresearch.bsky.social

Power, Land, and Informality: How Cartels Shape Governance and Urban Life in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Valentine Opanga and Detlef Müller-Mahn (Project C03 "Green Futures") examine how land cartels operate as powerful, embedded actors in Nairobi’s informal

New Publication:

Valentine Opanga & Detlef Müller-Mahn reframe land cartels in Nairobi not as anomalies, but as structurally embedded actors in the city’s urban metabolism.

Their research calls for moving beyond legality/illegality binaries.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/power-land-a...

New Publication: The Politics of Suspended Infrastructure in Kenya - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Uroš Kovač (Project B04 "Framing Futures") examines stalled construction projects in Kenya—focusing on the suspended renovation of Kamariny Stadium—to show

New Publication:
Uroš Kovač examines stalled construction projects in Kenya—focusing on the suspended renovation of Kamariny Stadium—to show how “suspension” functions as a political and social process rather than mere failure.

Read it here ➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

Beyond Farming: New Evidence Reveals Poor Pay and Precarious Work in Rural Africa - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this article, Jackson Elias Nzira, Martin C. Parlasca and Matin Qaim (Project C08 "Job Futures") examine labour conditions across different rural economic

Wage jobs remain scarce in rural Africa—and most pay below minimum wages.
Based on new survey evidence from 4 countries, our study with @zefbonn.bsky.social highlights poor working conditions outside the public sector & urgent need to improve rural labor markets.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/beyond-farmi...

Cologne International Forum Grants: Innovative Tandem Collaborations - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 The University of Cologne will be awarding five project grants (€ 15,000 each) annually for project-related innovative tandem collaborations between

The Cologne International Forum @unicologne.bsky.social will be awarding five project grants (€ 15,000 each) for project-related innovative tandem collaborations between University of Cologne-based academics and international junior researchers.

More info ➡️ crc-trr228.de/cologne-inte...

Available Positions for Third Funding Phase - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 We are pleased that our research project has received funding for a third project phase (2026-2029).

Apply now!

➡️ crc-trr228.de/available-po...

New Study Reveals How Urban Greening Fuels Displacement and Inequality in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this study, Valentine Opanga (associate researcher Project C03 "Green Futures") and Prince Guma (Cambridge University) analyse how struggles over green and

New publication:

Valentine Opanga @zefbonn.bsky.social & Prince Guma @cam.ac.uk show how “greening” in informal settlements in Nairobi isn’t always green—it's often tied to power, displacement, and deepening inequality.

More: crc-trr228.de/new-study-re...

We are thrilled to announce that @dfg.de has awarded us funding for another four years!

The third and final project phase will begin in 2026 and last until the end of 2029.

More: crc-trr228.de/crc-trr-228-...

New Study Reveals How Tanzanian Farmers Navigate Conflicting Sustainability Worlds - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 Saymore Ngonidzashe Kativu (Project B05 "Science Futures") argues that smallholder farmers in Mbeya, Tanzania navigate conflicting market-based and

New Publication:

Saymore Ngonidzashe Kativu @idos-research.bsky.social explores how smallholder farmers in Mbeya, Tanzania navigate conflicting sustainability logics—market-driven vs. eco-cultural—through hybrid farming practices and everyday sensemaking.

➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-study-re...

🚨 Publication Alert! 🚨
Exciting new publication from #CRC1502 – D01 by Theresa Goebel and Wolfgang Britz! This study quantifies land use and land cover under different socio-economic scenarios up to 2050 by running an integrated Computable General Equilibrium analysis.

📝 doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

Reviving a Ghost Dam: The Politics and Promise of Tanzania’s Rufiji River Basin - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this newly published article, Emma Minja and Detlef Müller-Mahn (Project C03 Green Futures) explore the century-long history and politics of the Stiegler’s

New Publication:

From colonial dreams to Magufuli’s industrial vision, the story of the Stiegler’s Gorge Dam on the Rufiji River reveals how power, politics, and conservation have shaped Tanzania’s development path.

Read it here:
crc-trr228.de/reviving-a-g...

Rethinking Foot-and-Mouth Disease: How Botswana’s History Challenges Colonial Views of Animal Health - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 This publication examines how understandings of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Botswana during the 1960s–70s were shaped by colonial and postcolonial

New Publication:

How did colonial histories shape today’s global policies on foot-and-mouth disease?
@wissevanengelen.bsky.social, Andreas Weber & @estherturnhout.bsky.social
trace how veterinarians in 1960s–70s Botswana redefined FMD:

Read it here: