News

New Working Paper online

Discussions on environmental, climate, or energy justice tend to focus primarily on downstream effects such as social inequality, rather than on the nature of property itself and its influence on social conditions. Similarly, the effects of socio-ecological transformation processes on property relations are rarely researched or described in detail, even though far-reaching changes and conflicts are to be expected in this area as well. Our new Working Paper 11, “Property and Socio-Ecological Transformation. Some Conceptual Considerations on a Neglected Connection,” addresses this tension.

Climate Action must be fair

In an interview with the Ostthüringer Zeitung,Silke van Dyk and Hartmut Rosa explain how property rights determine the success of environmental measures. An event entitled “Who owns the future?”, addressing issues of ownership and the ecological crisis, will be held on Thursday, January 15, at 6 p.m. at the Volksbad Jena.

New Publication!

In their “activity-based theory of rent,” authors Marlen van den Ecker, Tilman Reitz, and Sebastian Sevignani attempt to systematize existing theoretical approaches to rent economics in digital capitalism. The authors argue that these concepts ignore various forms of human activity that underlie rent extraction: unpaid activities or activities not employed by the rentier, such as software development, academic research, and produser activities.

New publication!

The new volume ‘Property Conflicts: Conceptual and Empirical Perspectives’ in our series ‘Structural Change in Property’ has been published. Kathrin Leuze, Joachim von Puttkamer, Marion Reiser and Sylka Scholz have compiled texts that examine the various conflicts in our contemporary capitalist society. This raises the question of whether these conflicts have the potential to fundamentally transform social property structures. 

New: Dossier Socio-ecological Transformation and Property

This dossier deals with our current “topic of the semester”: property and socio-ecological transformation.In addition to many other contributions, our first dossier includes an interview with Tilo Wesche about his book "Die Rechte der Natur“ as part of the video series ”DFG bewegt“, as well as a blog post by Helen Bönnighausen, Luzie Gerstenhöfer, Maria Pfeiffer, Marco Sonnberger, and Anne Tittor on ”Energy transition for all? On the complex relationship between energy transition, co-determination, and ownership structures," (in German) which is the result of an SFB workshop on the topic. 

Relaunch New Library of Property

Our New Library of Property is now available on this website. An extensive database provides information on relevant publications on the subject of property, the quarterly sources give an insight into our research projects, and our thematic dossiers present a wide variety of sources on current social debates.

Job Advertisement research student assistant

In subproject A08, ‘Wildlife as a commodity and more-than-human property: on the model of environmental stewardship in Namibia,’ a position as a student assistant is available as of 1 March 2026. The application deadline is 10 January 2026. 

New publication!

Sofia Bianchi Mancini and Maria Dell'Isola have published a special issue of the journal Civilità e Religioni. The articles collected in this issue on the subject of property and religion examine the concept of ‘divine property’ from the first to the ninth century AD. They show that, in a religious context, property always serves to express ideas about God, community and power. 

New blog post online!

Why have a universal basic inheritance? Coco Lina Aglibut explores this question in his latest blog post. She examines the history of ideas surrounding universal basic inheritance, presents the various positions that all relate positively to the concept, and questions its transformative potential. 

New blog post online!

In her recently published blog post ‘The Beginnings of Mendicant Orders and Property,’ Jana Ilnicka describes the parallel development of the first mendicant orders. They differed mainly in their different views on poverty and non-possession. 

Event announcement

Three SFB events will take place on 10 December: At 2 p.m., Niklas Angebauer and Tilo Wesche will give an introduction to theories of property; at 4 p.m., the sociological sub-projects of the SFB will present their research results; and at 6 p.m., Niklas Angebauer and Tilo Wesche will present their book Umkämpftes Eigentum (Contested Property), published by Suhrkamp, as part of the Social Theory Colloquium.

Event announcement

On 22 January 2026, Eva von Redecker and Penelope Deutscher will discuss the topic of ‘Reproduction, Life and Property’ at the Institute of Philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin. The event is part of the series ‘Standpoints: Feminist Philosophers in Conversation’ and is being held in cooperation with the SFB/TRR project ‘The dynamics of the Reproduction Economy: Forms of Appropriation in Global Fertility Chains.’ 

Die Verletzliche Gesellschaft – wie geopolitische Spannungen und soziale Ungleichheit unser Zusammenleben beeinflussen

Silke van Dyk will be a guest in Dresden on November 25 in a series of talks on social inequality and global uncertainties. Together with Julia Jirmann from Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit e.V., she will discuss the effects of social inequalities, such as the unequal distribution of property, education, career opportunities, and living conditions, on our collective life.

New blog post online!

In her recently published blog post “Unterleuten on property: The tragedy of anticommons and uncommoning in German wind energy expansion,” Maria Pfeiffer uses Juli Zeh's social novel “Unter Leuten” to explain the concept of property chains. Her conclusion: Land ownership determines who can participate in wind energy expansion in Germany. 

Job Advertisement research student assistant

A position as a student assistant is available in subproject C03, "Change in Energy as a Change in Ownership? Dynamics of Appropriation in European Wind Energy Expansion." The application deadline is 15 December 2025.

Event announcement

Together with the philosophy departments of the Universities of Jena and Erfurt, as well as the Cluster of Excellence ‘Imaginamics’, the SFB is organising an interdisciplinary workshop entitled ‘Figures, Types, and Images of the Social in the 19th and 20th Century: Practices of Social Imagining in the History of Knowledge and the Sciences’. The event will take place from 20 to 21 November 2025 at the International Meeting Centre (IBZ, Erfurt University) in Erfurt. 

New publication!

A new anthology in the series “Structural Change of Property” addresses the question of property in the reproductive economy. Under the title “Dimensions of Property in Reproductive Economies. Practices, Structures and Discourses,” editors Stefanie Graefe, Irina Herb, and Susanne Lettow bring together contributions that expand existing critical analyses of the reproductive economy by including the perspective of property. 

New Working Paper online

In the recently published 10th Working Paper of the SFB, “Challenges for Re-Embedding Intellectual Property Rights on Genetic Resources. Reflections on access and benefitsharing in Brazil,” Anne Tittor, Eduardo Relly, Leoni Schlender, and Maria Backhouse share the results of their research on property rights on genetic ressources in Brazil. 

Event announcement

On 17 October, Florian Peters will give a lecture at the conference ‘Dynamics of Property Change in Eastern Europe’ organised by the German Association for Eastern European Studies. His lecture is entitled "(Neo)liberals Against Property Claims: Contentious Privatisation and Protracted Restitution in Post-Socialist Poland". 

New blog post online!

In his recently published blog post “Contested systemic relevance: On the appropriation of infrastructure in a prolonged crisis,” Oliver Prausmüller takes a look at current infrastructure conflicts and how they are being addressed from the perspective of “systemic relevance.”   Instead of expanding public control, infrastructure is increasingly being instrumentalized for power politics.

Event announcement

Petra Gümplová will deliver a keynote speech on the “Critical Theory of the Anthropocene” at the international conference “Navigating the Anthropocene” in Bratislava on 25 September.

Job Advertisement research assistant/doctoral candidate

In project C02 ‘Dynamics of the Reproduction Economy: Forms of Appropriation in Global Fertility Chains,’ a three-year fixed-term position as a research assistant/doctoral candidate is available as of 1 January 2026. The application deadline is 15 October 2025.

Event announcement

SFB goes DGS! From September 22-26, 2025, the 42nd Congress of the German Sociological Association (DGS) will take place in Duisburg on the topic of “Transitions.” Many SFB members will be presenting there, for example at our SFB ad hoc event Structural Change in Property Ownership – Transformation, Transition, Diversification, Persistence? (AdH80) on Thursday, September 25 (2:15-5:00 p.m.), which will discuss the effects and dynamics of property based on the existing ”property oblivion”. The complete program is available here (also as a PDF).

Event announcement

In addition, our SFB will be represented at the 42nd DGS Conference as follows: Katrin Leuze, Sylka Scholz, and Isabell Stamm will discuss property inequality on Tuesday, September 23 (2:15–4:00 p.m.) in the special event “Distributing Wealth, Uniting Society?” At the same time (2:15–5:00 p.m.), Lisa Vollmer and Silke van Dyk will discuss the negotiation of commons and infrastructures. Tilman Reitz will speak on September 23 at 2:15 p.m. about freedom of speech in academia, on September 25 at 5:00 p.m. about the challenges of academic publishing, and on September 26 at 9:00 a.m. about permanent employment in sociology.

Event announcement

The next session at the 42nd DGS Conference on Wednesday, September 24, will feature Robin Saalfeld and Isabell Stamm at 2:15 p.m., who will discuss property asymmetries in couple relationships based on inheritance. Lisa Vollmer will give a presentation on the transformational developments of tenant associations in Malmö and Berlin starting at 9:00 a.m., while Felicitas Sommer (associate) will analyze the effectiveness of rent controls on Friday, September 26 (9:00-11:45 a.m.). In keeping with this theme, Silke van Dyk and Luzie Gerstenhöfer will take stock of the new municipalism in Barcelona on September 26 at 9:00 a.m. For more events and the full program, click here (PDF).

New publication!

Petra Gümplová has launched a series on the ethical aspects of climate change in the online magazine Kapitál. Questions of ownership are central to this topic. Click here for the first post in the series. The articles are published once a month.

Job Advertisement for PostDoc Position

A position as a postdoctoral researcher (75%) is available in subproject B10, “Embracing Capital: Normative and Corporate Law Aspects of the Capitalization of Company Ownership,” at the Technical University of Berlin, starting January 1, 2026. 

New publication!

Robin Saalfeld observes in his newly published article "Zwischen Investitionsorientierung, finanzieller Sicherheit und Konsumkritik: Eine Typologie von Eigentumsarrangements in Paarbeziehungen" that couples' property arrangements vary widely: from investment-oriented couples who view property as an asset, to security-oriented couples who perceive it as joint or individualized ownership, to couples who question the relevance of private property, engage in critical negotiations over its meaning, or cope with property scarcity.

New publication!

The ecological and digital transformation of society is currently in full swing—and more controversial than ever before. In the volume “Contested Transformation: Conflicts over Digital and Ecological Change”, edited by Klaus Dörre, Steffen Liebig, and others,  these debates are addressed on the basis of conceptual contributions and empirical case studies, including the results of the expired SFB subproject B05 “Property, Inequality, and Class Formation in Socio-Ecological Transformation Conflicts”.

New publication!

What are the ownership structures in Chinese capitalism? Philipp Köncke, Stefan Schmalz and Lucas Erlbacher explore this question in their article "The anatomy of Chinese capitalism: Sectoral variation in party-state permeation and corporate governance" in the journal competition&change. Using a new dataset on China's 500 largest companies, they arrive at important conclusions:  These range from a fundamentally dual ownership structure to inter-sectoral variation. 

The SFB in the media

An article in the taz newspaper on masculinity research refers to the new book by Sylka Scholz. It deals with the construction of masculinity, including in the context of employment. The article also emphasizes the East German perspective that Sylka Scholz brings to the debate on masculinity.

New publication!

The new issue of the Berlin Journal of Sociology entitled "Refiguration or Transformation? The reorganization of the world beyond globalization" has been published. This is our second cooperation with the SFB 1265, following a special issue on urban space and property. The current issue includes an article by Hartmut Rosa on “The transformation of a social formation: Reflections concerning the structural change of property” and an article by Stefan Schmalz titled "An endless financial crisis? The capitalist world economy between transformation and refiguration".

New publication!

Few people know that in a 1980 verdict, the Federal Constitutional Court placed social security benefits as (social) property of those entitled to them under the property protection of the Basic Law (Article 14). In an article for the journal Soziale Sicherheit, Silke van Dyk examines the role of social property in old-age provision and discusses implications for questions of (in)equality, (in)security and solidarity.

Event information

On July 1, Silke van Dyk will give a keynote on the topic "On lighthouses and their dark sides - transformative practice and public sociology" at the conference "Transformation Sociology Concrete" in Darmstadt. The lecture will examine the transformative potential of progressive municipalist city governments that aim to de-privatize the city on the basis of public infrastructures and common goods. The central question is what role prominent case studies play for transformative movements in other places and what the task of public sociology can be for the analysis and critique of so-called lighthouses.

New podcast episode online!

The 19th episode of our podcast appropriate, titled "Looking Back at Eight Years of Municipalist Government in Barcelona: The movement-party Barcelona en Comú" has been published. In cooperation with the Urban Political Podcast, Silke van Dyk and Luzie Gerstenhöfer are discussing the alternative approach to local politics by Barcelona en Comú with activist and former political advisor Elia Gran.

New publication!

Petra Gümplová published an article in the German Law Journal in which she takes a critical look at the extension of sovereign rights to global commons. 

New blog post online!

Andrea Dietl and Mike Geppert published a new blog post on the topic of “Private investment in European soccer”. The article explores the effects of the changing ownership landscape in professional soccer.

New blog post online!

Steffen Liebig published a new blogpost on mobility as public infrastructure.

Event information

Philipp Köncke is presenting his study "(Geo)Politische Ökonomie des chinesischen Partei-Staatskapitalismus" at an event of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and the Kritischen China-Forums der Assoziation für kritische Gesellschaftsforschung (AkG) on May 16.

Booklaunch "Umkämpftes Eigentum"

On May 20, starting at 6 pm, the recently published anthology “Umkämpftes Eigentum”, edited by Niklas Angebauer, Jacob Blumenfeld and Tilo Wesche, will be presented in Berlin.

Job Advertisement for PostDoc Position

Project B06 "Property Inequality in the Private Sphere: Couple-Internal and External Drivers of Change in Property Arrangements in Couple Relationships" offers a PostDoc position (100%) to be filled as soon as possible. See here for the job offer.

Lunch Lecture Contested Property

Silke van Dyk will give a lecture at the University of Vienna on May 21 on the question “Infrastructures in the field of tension between private and collective property: A new politics of the public?” The occasion is a lunch lecture on the book Nach dem Privateigentum.

New publication!

The anthology "Umkämpftes Eigentum. Eine gesellschaftstheoretische Debatte", edited by Niklas Angebauer, Jacob Blumenfeld and Tilo Wesche, has just been published by Suhrkamp Verlag.

New Working Paper online!

In this new Working Paper, we present key research results of the CRC 294 "Structural Change of Property" from the first funding phase (2021 to 2024).

visit page

New publication!

Sofia Bianchi Mancini's paper on "Narrating Divine Property: The Case of Sacred Groves in Statian Poetry" has just been published open access.

New publication!

Maria Pfeiffer and Marco Sonnberger published a new article titled "Rushing for the gold of the energy transition: An empirical exploration of the relevance of landownership for the wind energy expansion in Germany" in Energy Research & Social Science.

Read the full article here

New publication!

Jan Dirk Harke published "Die Geburt des Eigentums", a new volume of the SFB-series, with Campus Verlag.

Event information

The projects B08, C05 and JRT06 will be hosting the workshop "Umkämpfter digitaler Kapitalismus: Neofeudalismus, Geopolitik und soziale Konflikte" on March 13 and 14 in Jena. Register via email to Florian Schadwinkel (florian.schadwinkel@uni-erfurt.de).

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