The GIGA

The GIGA rigorously upholds the Leibniz motto of “theoria cum praxi”: science for the benefit of society. Based on its research, the Institute engages in regular knowledge-exchange activities with policymakers, practitioners, and the wider public. We include regional voices in both our research and outreach activities and seek to share results of these activities with societies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The Institute’s flagship approach is Comparative Area Studies (CAS), with which we conduct both intra-and cross-regional comparisons at different levels of analysis – global, regional, national, local. The GIGA’s scholarship combines context sensitivity with cutting-edge research methodologies. We develop and apply, as such, innovative analytical approaches engaging with perspectives and experiences from different world regions.  Read more.

Our GIGA Library is home to a unique and rich collection on Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond. It ensures open access to research results and research data and provides services to the academic community and other audiences.

The GIGA is jointly funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Ministry of Science, Research, Equalities and Districts), and the other federal states. Third-party funding from competitive procedures accounts for approximately 25 per cent of our total annual budget of currently 13 million Euros. The GIGA is a foundation under the civil law of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The GIGA is certified as equivalent to a Certified Public Charity.

We build on a rich history of over 60 years of research on Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Middle East. The GIGA emerged in 2006 after the restructuring of the German Overseas Institute, which was founded in 1964. We have a long-standing record as a trusted source of world-class social science research on the Global South and global developments, and are deeply rooted in Hamburg, in Germany, and within the international scientific community.

The GIGA has always been an integral and respected part of Hamburg’s scientific landscape. Described by Hamburg’s former First Mayor Olaf Scholz as a valuable institution for the city, we are committed to contributing to the further strengthening of Hamburg’s position as an international hub of knowledge. To foster our exchange with policymakers in the capital, we operate an additional office in Berlin. Contact us