Cooperation or Confrontation: International Partnerships vs. My Country First

Dresden Forum for International Politics 2026
29 April 2026, 19:15 hrs, Frauenkirche Dresden (in German)

International law and international cooperation are increasingly under attack. More and more countries are pursuing national interests, freely following the motto ‘my country first’. Joint efforts to tackle global challenges are stalling, and international conflicts are on the rise. How can Germany and Saxony position themselves in this new world (dis)order?

Free participation, no registration required.

Multilateral Cooperation for People and Planet

First Issue of the New Booklet Series „Global Trends“

How can international cooperation succeed amid shifting global power structures? This question lies at the heart of the new booklet series “Global Trends: Prospects for Development and Peace”, launched by the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) in cooperation with the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:).

The first issue, titled “Multilateral Cooperation for People and Planet”, examines key challenges of global cooperation, including human-centred digital transformation, the future of multilateral peace operations, due diligence policies in global value chains, and water diplomacy as a tool for conflict transformation. The chapters provide in-depth guidance – concise, clear, and forward-looking.

The e-book is available open access in both English and German.

Challenging Hierarchies in the Nuclear Order: Gender, Generation, and Geography under the Nuclear Ban Treaty

INEF/sef: Development and Peace Blog

On 22 January 2026, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) marked the fifth anniversary of its entry into force. Although more than half of the world’s states now support the treaty, its effectiveness continues to be questioned by critics. In a new contribution to the INEF/sef: Development and Peace Blog, Carmen Wunderlich argues that the significance of the TPNW extends far beyond its formal legal status. Its deeper transformative potential lies in a deliberate, systemic effort to reconfigure the global nuclear order by centering the health and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons while addressing three intersecting axes of exclusion: gender, generation, and geography.

Faith and Fear: A Cognitive Framework for Why Countries Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free or Nuclear-Deterrence-Based Security Orders

New Article in “The Nonproliferation Review“

Why and how do states establish nuclear-weapon-free or nuclear-deterrence-based security orders? A new article by INEF staff members Leonardo Bandarra and Carmen Wunderlich examines the dynamics that influence states’ decisions to accept or reject nuclear deterrence with a focus on regional contexts in the Global South. The authors explore how a mindset of mutual trust among elites can ground stable nuclear-weapon-free security orders, in contrast to the mindset of dominating mistrust that prevails in nuclear-deterrence-based security orders.

Strengthening Women's Voice and Leadership: Gender Impacts of Agricultural Cooperatives in Zambia

AVE Study 45b

A new AVE study by INEF researcher Carolin Rosenberg shows that agricultural cooperatives can serve as pivotal platforms for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women – but only if gender-specific barriers are identified and addressed. Measures such as capacity building, leadership development, and the transformation of discriminatory gender norms are crucial to enabling women to participate equally in leadership and decision-making processes.

The publication is part of the INEF project “Ways out of Poverty, Vulnerability and Food Insecurity“ (AVE), which was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Gender-Transformative Approaches in Development Cooperation: Analyses and Recommendations

AVE Study 46b

How can gender-transformative impacts be achieved in development cooperation projects in the fields of agriculture and food and nutrition security in rural areas? In the final publication of the research project “Ways out of poverty, vulnerability, and food insecurity”, Karin Gaesing, Carolin Rosenberg, and Frank Bliss formulate conclusions and recommendations in this regard. The thematic focus is on access to and use of land, the promotion of value chains, capacity building of donor agencies and local project partners, and changing discriminatory gender norms through innovative approaches.

The research project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) from 2015 to 2025, investigated measures that can be taken to specifically reach poor, vulnerable, and food-insecure population groups in order to effectively and sustainably improve their living conditions.

Strengthening Peace in West Africa: How Infrastructures for Peace Function in Practice

ANCIP Policy Brief No. 5

In a new ANCIP Policy Brief, INEF staff member Jasmin Schmitz examines how peacebuilding networks in West Africa can be strengthened through the concept of Infrastructures for Peace (I4P). This concept describes mechanisms that connect regional, national, and local actors to detect conflicts early and transform them peacefully. While ECOWAS has laid important foundations for a regional network, weak links to national and local levels continue to hinder effective implementation. The Policy Brief explores how these network structures can be further consolidated in light of changing conflict dynamics.

(Post-)Growth Infrastructures

Special Issue of the Journal “Economy and Society“

A new special issue of the journal “Economy and Society”, co-edited by Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn (University of Groningen) and INEF associate member Matthias Kranke, deals with the concept of “(post-)growth infrastructures”. The construction and expansion of infrastructures is often linked to promises of economic growth. As the editors argue in the introduction to the special issue, a critical examination of prevailing growth logics, which is necessary from a socio-ecological perspective, requires an understanding of their infrastructural anchoring. Accordingly, post-growth ideas can hardly be implemented through alternative policies and institutions alone; their success also depends significantly on more profound infrastructural change.

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.