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Dear reader, |
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The question of how a climate-friendly, resilient and affordable energy supply can be organised is one of the most pressing issues of our time. At sef:, we have already intensively analysed the effects of the energy transition on global justice – for instance, through last year's Potsdam Africa Dialogues and the Brandenburg Dialogue: Learning with Africa.
African countries are already focussing on large-scale renewable energy projects. One example is the expansion of geothermal plants in Olkaria, Kenya, which is being supported by several European donors. However, there are also considerable conflicts of interest and concerns about justice for the local population. In Global Governance Spotlight 1|2025, our author Chigozie Nweke-Eze analyses how the interests of the Kenyan government, international investors, local communities and environmental actors conflict – an example of the complex questions of justice that accompany the global energy transformation.
This year, we are once again addressing forward-looking debates at the interface between development and peace. As part of this year's Potsdam Africa Dialogues, we are focussing on water as a resource and discussing how it can act as an engine for peace and cooperation despite its considerable potential for conflict. You will find a preview in this newsletter. We wish you a stimulating read!
With best regards, Carolin Rosenberg,
Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) |
| Ingo Nordmann-Mohn,
Development and Peace Foundation (sef:) | | | | |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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 © Gerrit Rautenbach/iStock |
Potsdam Africa Dialogues
26-27 June 2025, Mercure Hotel Potsdam City, Germany
Water, the essence of life, has become one of the most contested resources. As rivers carve paths through borders and aquifers span beneath nations, their management increasingly defines political, economic, and social stability. However, uneven water distribution, climate change, population growth, rapid urbanization, and weak governance further exacerbate existing tensions. The Potsdam Africa Dialogues address these pressing issues, exploring water both as a catalyst for conflict and a driver of peace and cooperation on the African continent.
On the eve of the Potsdam Africa Dialogues, the Brandenburg Dialogue: 'Learning with Africa' will take place on the topic of "Every Drop Counts: Corporate Accountability and Water Governance".
The registration is now available at this link. You will soon find more information about the programme on our website. |
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PUBLICATIONS
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 © sef: |
Global Governance Spotlight 1|2025
Africa's future development will be significantly influenced by the energy transition. Many African countries, including Kenya, are increasingly focussing on large-scale renewable energy projects. As the size and number of these projects increase, so do concerns about equity in the energy sector.
In this article, Chigozie Nweke-Eze analyses the conflicts of interest that have developed with the expansion of geothermal plants in Olkaria near Naivasha, Kenya. |
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 © ANCIP |
ANCIP Policy Brief No. 2
In a new ANCIP Policy Brief, Mona Saleh explores external and internal pressures reshaping EU-ECOWAS relations. ECOWAS faces mounting pressures from coups in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, with their withdrawal in January 2025 set to weaken its regional influence. Meanwhile, the new Neighborhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI) framework established by the European Union emphasizes flexibility and shifting funding priorities, which provides opportunities but brings about risks diverting resources and undermining ECOWAS’s primary responsibility for regional integration and stability. |
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 © ANCIP |
ANCIP Working Paper No. 2
In a new ANCIP Working Paper, Christof Hartmann (INEF), Antonia Witt (PRIF) and Ulf Engel (ReCentGlobe) focus on the diverse practices of African non-military interventions, contributing to an emerging body of literature that examines regional policies on the ground. Based on a collaborative network project, the paper develops a common conceptual framework for studying non-military conflict intervention practices across different actors, institutions and conflict contexts. It defines key elements of these interventions, explores what it means to analyze 'practices', and examines the distinctive features that make these interventions 'African'. |
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RESULTS AND REPORTS
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 © Jasmin Schmitz |  INEF Expert Workshops in Berlin and Brussels
As part of the ANCIP network project, funded by BMBF, and co-implemented by INEF with colleagues at Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) and University Leipzig, together with partners in Africa and Europe, two transfer workshops were organised in February 2025 in Berlin and Brussels to communicate the first results of the project to German and EU policy communities. The project investigates African Non-Military Intervention Practices (ANCIP) of regional organisations, such as mediation, special envoys, early warning, electoral observation and infrastructures for peace, and also sets up a novel database and dashboard to analyse such practices.
Detailed reports on the transfer workshops in Berlin and in Brussels can be found on the ANCIP project website. |
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 © sef: |
Bonn Symposium 2024
At the Bonn Symposium 2024, German and international experts discussed how the global rise of populism is affecting international cooperation. The report is now available on our website. |
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SEF:/INEF INSIDE
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 © Isabella Brunke |
On 1 April 2025, Dr Carmen Wunderlich joined the INEF team. She holds a doctorate in Political Science from Goethe University Frankfurt and conducts research on global norm dynamics and contestation practices of state and non-state actors in the Global South, particularly in the field of nuclear arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament. After working at the Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP) and the University of Münster, Dr Wunderlich was Akademische Rätin a. Z. (eq. non-tenured Assistant Professor) at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Interim Professor at the University of Freiburg. Carmen Wunderlich is also Principal Investigator in the BMBF research consortium VeSPoTec “Verification in a Complex and Unpredictable World: Social, Political and Technical Processes”. |
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 © Leonardo Bandarra |
INEF also welcomes Dr Leonardo Bandarra as a new staff member. He has worked as postdoctoral researcher in the consortium VeSPoTec since June 2022, where he focuses on social constructivist approaches to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament verification. He holds a PhD in political science, and his research explores weapons of mass destruction politics, trust, and theoretical perspectives from the Global South. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). |
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 © Pixabay/WebTechExperts | INEF now on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Stay up to date
The Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) is now on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Here we share results of our research at the interface of development and peace, inform about new publications and events.
Connect with us, stay informed and join the discussion!
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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.
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