The Pandemic as a Multidimensional Crisis

Dresden Forum for International Politics

30 June – 01 July 2022, Dresden

We would like to warmly invite you again to the Dresden Forum for International Politics 2022, which sef: is organising together with the State of Saxony and the Frauenkirche Dresden Foundation. It consists of two parts: an International Symposium (online) on 30 June and 1 July 2022, as well as a public evening event in the Frauenkirche Dresden on 30 June 2022.

For the public evening event, please register here. To register for the international symposium, please register here. If you are interested in attending the international symposium, please send a short email to neubauer@sef-bonn.org.

Out of Control? How Concepts and Practices Circulate across Boundaries

Call for Papers

4. Annual Conference of the Centre for Global Cooperation Research (GCR), 27-28 October, Duisburg

Concepts and practices are essential for how we think about the world and act in it. Yet, concepts do not mean the same thing to everyone. When they are translated and adapted, they sometimes develop a life of their own. How can such transfers across disciplines, sectors and world regions still be successful? For its Fourth Annual Conference, the GCR invites the submission of abstracts, together with the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen, and the Main Research Area Transformation of Contemporary Societies at the University Duisburg-Essen.
Please find the extended Call for Papers here.

Capable of Peace in Times of War

Peace Report 2022

The editors presented the Peace Report today at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin. They do not only analyze how Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine came about. Rather, they focus on the global consequences and discuss how Europe can become capable of peace again. One of the main demands of the report is that defense capability and peace capability must be considered together.

New diplomatic approaches to conflict management are needed, as demanded in chapters overseen by INEF researchers. In a chapter on "Violent Conflicts," the peace researchers state that regional actors must be supported in their efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully. The chapter on "Sustainable Peace" makes clear that feminist foreign policy casts new perspectives on conflict causes and dynamics. It urges the imperative of "peacemaking" and a German and European foreign and defense policy that goes beyond the renaissance of deterrence, armament and sanctioning.

You can find more information on the Editors‘ Statement (in English), events and press reports here.

Revitalizing International Law: Making the Multilateral System Fit for the Future

Global Governance Spotlight 1/2022

Against the backdrop of numerous global crises, it is essential to strengthen multilateralism and international law. This need is also reflected in the United Nations' 2021 "Our Common Agenda" report. In the Global Governance Spotlight 1|2022, Maja Groff explores what changes are needed to help revitalize international law by strengthening institutions such as the International Court of Justice or the International Anti-Corruption Court.

Maja Groff was also part of the sef: Policy Lunch on 31 May 2022 in Brussels, which in particular addressed the role of the European Union in revitalising international law.

Rejectionist Islamism in Africa

New blog article for "Africa at LSE"

For more than twenty-years, Islamist groups rejecting the conventional nation-state have been gaining traction in sub-Saharan Africa. In his new blog entry, INEF researcher Jannis Saalfeld sheds light on the regional history of rejectionist Islamism. The contribution builds on a recent article published in International Affairs.

New INEF project on mass protest campaigns and social movement organizations

In recent decades, there have been mass protest campaigns all over the world, directed against authoritarian rulers, but also for better labour rights, climate protection and women's rights.  So far, little is known about how the success or failure of mass protest campaigns affects different organizations. Are they (de)mobilized by the outcome of the protests? Which social groups are more likely to learn from successes or failures of the campaign? These questions are the focus of a new INEF research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for three years. It is led by Johannes Vüllers.

New staff member at INEF: Ingrid Vik Bakken

Ingrid Vik Bakken joined INEF as a senior researcher in June, after completing a PhD in political science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. At INEF, she works on the project "Protest groups in the aftermath of campaigns". Ingrid is focusing on armed conflict and protest movements, gender and women's mobilization, and experimental/quantitative research methods.

The Development and Peace Foundation (sef:) was founded in 1986 on the initiative of Willy Brandt. It is a cross-party and non-profitmaking organisation. sef: provides an international high-level forum for shared thinking on the complex challenges of globalisation. It is linked to the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) by a cooperation agreement. The aim of INEF’s application-oriented research is to build bridges between theory and practice. It is one of three host institutions of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research.