The Deutsch-Französisches Institut (DFI) is an independent non-profit organization devoted to research on and documentation of contemporary Franco-German relations. The institute is funded by the

German Foreign Office , logo = DEgov-AA-Logo en.svg , logo_width = 260 px , image = Auswaertiges Amt Berlin Eingang.jpg , picture_width = 300px , image_caption = Entrance to the Foreign Office building , headquarters = Werderscher Mark ...

, the regional government of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

and the town of

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is s ...

. Projects are also funded by external partners.

History

The institute was established in 1948, with the aim of promoting Franco-German cooperation in all areas of public life and academia. It is based in

, a Paris office being opened in 2004. In 1990 the Frankreich-Bibliothek, a library and documentation centre, was opened in Ludwigsburg. Founding members of the DFI included prominent figures, such as

Joseph Rovan Joseph Adolphe Rovan (born Joseph Adolph Rosenthal in Munich, Germany on July 25, 1918, died July 27, 2004), was a French philosopher and politician, and is considered a spiritual father of post-war Europe. Initially born into the Jewish faith, on ...

and Alfred Grosser, on the French side, and the Germans

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...

and Carlo Schmid. The first director was Fritz Schenk (1948–1972), followed by Robert Picht (1972–2002) and Frank Baasner (2002– ). The titular head of the institute is the president, currently the former prime minister of Baden Württemberg,

Erwin Teufel Erwin Teufel (born 4 September 1939, in Zimmern ob Rottweil) is a German politician of the CDU. Political career Teufel was the leader of the CDU parliamentary group in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg from 1978 to 1991. Teufel was Ministe ...

. The institute currently has approximately 20 members of staff, including five researchers.

Profile and activities

The DFI conducts applied research and provides consultancy on social, political and economic developments in France and on topics relating to Franco-German relations. The core research areas of economic policy, social policy, European policy, and intercultural communication form the focus of its activities, which are mainly long-term projects, partially or wholly funded by external financing from foundations or businesses. With the aim of promoting links between research and practice, the DFI hosts conferences and seminars, publishes extensively, and provides background information for the media. In addition to this, the institute holds seminars and training sessions for various groups. Participants include journalists and students from France and Germany. The research staff also teach at German and foreign universities. The institute’s activities are chiefly directed at decision makers and those occupying positions of influence in politics, business, education and the media, but also at the German and French public.

Frankreich-Bibliothek

The open access library and documentation centre was opened in 1990, the collection focusing on contemporary France and Franco-German relations. The library currently holds around 37,000 volumes. In addition, there is a press cuttings archive containing over half a million articles, covering the period from 1975 to the present. The press archive has been online since summer 2009, although older material has not yet been retro-digitalised. The DFI, represented by the Frankreich-Bibliothek, is a member of the information network “International Relations and Area Studies” (FIV) and thus participates in the production of the World Affairs Online database (WAO). All literature, including relevant journal articles and book chapters, is catalogued in the FIV database and can be searched via the DFI catalogue, as well as through further regional and national online catalogues. The Frankreich-Bibliothek is an associate member of the Südwestdeutschen Bibliotheksverbund, a union catalogue. With the support of the Wüstenrot Foundation, the DFI offers a limited number of grants for short-term research in the library for both undergraduate and post-graduate students from Germany and abroad.

References

* Krotz, Ulrich: Parapublic underpinnings of international relations : the Franco-German construction of Europeanization of a particular kind – In: European Journal of International Relations (London), 13 (September 2007) 3, pp. 385–417 * Krotz, Ulrich: Ties that bind? : The parapublic underpinnings of Franco-German relations as construction of international value. – Cambridge/Mass.: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, 2002. – 27 p., lit. pp. 21–27 (Working Papers / Program for the Study of Germany and Europe; 02.

* Bock, Hans Manfred (Ed.): ''Projekt deutsch-französische Verständigung: Die Rolle der Zivilgesellschaft am Beispiel des Deutsch-Französischen Instituts in Ludwigsburg.''. – Opladen: Leske und Budrich, 1998, * Deutsch-Französisches Institut (Ed.): ''Frankreich Jahrbuch 2...''. – Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2..., ISSN 0935-6649
Deutsch-Französisches Institut (Hrsg.): ''dfi aktuell''. – Ludwigsburg: dfi, 19..

External links

dfi website

dfi library catalogue

Press archive

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