Cluster of Excellence “Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies” (University of Bayreuth)

The Chair of African Legal Studies is closely affiliated with the Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies at the University of Bayreuth. Since its inception in 2019, the Cluster has been at the forefront of redefining African Studies through interdisciplinary collaboration, networked research, and equitable partnerships between scholars in Africa and Europe.

In its upcoming second funding phase, beginning in 2026, Africa Multiple will continue to advance innovative approaches to understanding Africa and its diasporas through new thematic areas including Digitalities, Ecologies, Accumulation, Insecurities, Remembering, and Translating. Building on established collaborations with four partner universities in Lagos (Nigeria), Eldoret (Kenya), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Makhanda (South Africa), the Cluster promotes joint knowledge production, shared research infrastructures, and the mobility of scholars across continents.

Within this framework, the Chair contributes legal perspectives to the Cluster’s transdisciplinary debates—particularly on human rights, governance, and environmental law in African contexts. Through its involvement, the Chair reinforces the University of Bayreuth’s commitment to African-led research and the reconfiguration of African Studies on a global scale.