The project Changing Stateness in Africa was part of the SPP 1448 priority program funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and entitled Adaptation and creativity in Africa, technologies and meanings in the production of order and disorderwhich was carried out in April 2011 by the University of Leipzig in partnership with the University of Halle. The project aimed to examine the nature, scope and limits of the state in Africa. It also aimed to explore the gap between the European state model imposed in the postcolonial context, and the realities of the state in Africa. The project was particularly interested in the subjective experiences of different state actors, and is based on the hypothesis that representations of the state in Africa are subject to different criteria and requirements from those in the West.

The DAW center has been involved in fieldwork in Cameroon through its employees and sociology students, as well as through workshops. The first phase of the project concerns the Cameroon and Ghana study sites. It was carried out between April 2011 and February 2012. Research teams, mainly made up of sociologists, conducted interviews and exchanges with various stakeholders in both countries. The people involved were government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations, members of civil society, businessmen, politicians, community representatives, etc. The results of this first phase were partially transcribed or discussed, and these results were then discussed in greater depth during the second phase. The second phase began in 2013 and ended in 2015. In addition to Cameroon and Ghana, Ethiopia was also included as a study country. On this project, the DAW Center (Prof. Dr. Simo) collaborated with the Center for Area Studies & Institute for African Studies (Prof. Dr. Ulf Engel) and the Center for Area Studies & Global and European Studies Institute (Prof. Dr. Matthias Middell), both in Leipzig. Further information on the project at http://www.spp1448.de/projects/changing-stateness-inafrica.