Cooperation or Confrontation: International partnerships vs. my country first (in German)

Dresden Forum for International Politics
5 May 2026, 7:15 p.m., Frauenkirche Dresden

Former Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Minister-President Michael Kretschmer and international law expert Prof. Dr Heike Krieger will discuss at the Dresden Frauenkirche what international cooperation might look like in times of increasing conflict at the Dresden Frauenkirche.

Admission to the event is free; no registration is required. Please allow at least 30 minutes extra before the event begins for potential security checks.

Women, Peace and Security in Practice: Strengthening Participation, Protection and Local Action

Berliner Summer Dialogue
27 May 2026, 5:00 p.m, Berlin Global Village

Our panel is now complete! Among others, Safia Ibrahimkhel, co-founder of the UNHCR’s Global Youth Advisory Council (GYAC) (Afghanistan/Pakistan) and member of the Action Network on Forced Displacement – Women as Agents of Change, and Marianne Kreuzig, Senior Policy Officer on feminist development policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), will contribute to our discussion. The full programme is now available on our website.

Register now here!

Autocrats and Algorithms: Tools to Defend Press Freedom in the Age of AI 

sef: Session at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum
23 or 24 June 2026, World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB)

Our session at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum will discuss strategies for protecting press freedom and strengthening journalistic integrity in the age of AI. Among others, Sahana Udupa, Professor of Media Anthropology at LMU Munich and Faculty Associate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center, will take part in the discussion.

Registration is now possible via Deutsche Welle.

Due Diligence Legislation and the Politics of Implementation: The Case of the German Supply Chain Law

New Article in “Regulation & Governance“ 

In a new article published in “Regulation & Governance“, INEF staff member Christian Scheper demonstrates how the German Federal Office of Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), through its implementation of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), does not resolve legal ambiguities but instead delegates decisions to companies  – thereby making private governance structures in global value chains the central framework for public regulation, with far-reaching consequences for the future EU-wide implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

Mushrooms, Cranes, and the Fear of Planetary Destruction: Exploring Children’s Imaginaries of War and Nuclear Anxiety

New Article in “Critical Studies on Security“ 

Since the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the risk of nuclear war has remained a persistent source of fear and anxiety, particularly among children. While disarmament activists often invoke “saving children’s futures” to advocate for a global ban of nuclear weapons, this approach frequently overlooks children’s active agency in interpreting nuclear threats. A new article co-authored by INEF researcher Leonardo Bandarra addresses this gap by exploring children’s imaginaries of war grounded in nuclear anxiety through a qualitative visual and content analysis of 29 artworks created by youth (aged 9–18) for the UK-based charity Never Such Innocence competition (2020– 2024).

Multilateral Cooperation for People and Planet 

Interview on the New Booklet Series „Global Trends“ 

How can international cooperation succeed amid shifting global power structures? 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:), demonstrates: Rules-based multilateral cooperation remains necessary – and possible. In an interview with the publisher Verlag Barbara Budrich, INEF Executive Director Dr Cornelia Ulbert explains how the new publication series came about and what readers can expect.

The first issue, titled “Multilateral Cooperation for People and Planet”, is available open-access in both English and German.

New staff member at the sef:

Dr Miriam  Tekath

Dr Miriam Tekath joined the sef: team on 15 April as a Research and Programme Coordinator. She previously worked as a researcher at the Centre for Conflict Research at Philipps University of Marburg and in the research management department at EUPeace, the European University for Peace, Justice and Inclusive Societies. As a researcher with a PhD in peace and conflict studies, Miriam Tekath brings expertise in societal peace processes and forms of (civil) conflict management. At the same time, she is interested in the relationship between knowledge and political decision-making and is therefore particularly looking forward to helping to shape dialogue formats at sef: on global issues and their local relevance.

Funding Approved: Interdisciplinary Research Consortia Enter Their Second Phase

VeSPoTec and ANCIP

Following a positive evaluation by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), two projects with INEF participation have been approved follow-up funding until 2028.

The collaborative project “VeSPoTec – Verification in a complex and unpredictable world: social, political and technical processes” examines how it can be reliably verified whether states are complying with their nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation obligations. In its second phase, the project focuses on the reconfiguration of nuclear verification in light of geopolitical fragmentation and regime erosion. It also examines the role of Artificial Intelligence and new technologies in verification processes. The goal is to establish an internationally networked research and advisory hub (VeSPoTec-Hub) that pools expertise and translates it into policy advice and early-career training. In addition to INEF, the consortium includes RWTH Aachen University, the Forschungszentrums Jülich and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF). From 1 April, INEF staff member Dr Carmen Wunderlich will take over as spokesperson for the research consortium.

In times of escalating geopolitical tensions and violent conflict, non-military mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution are more important than ever. Against this backdrop, “ANCIP – African Non-Military Conflict Intervention Practices” is a collaborative research network bringing together expertise from the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), the Leipzig Research Centre Global Dynamics, and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF). The second research phase will expand the ANCIP database and explore interfaces between military and non-military conflict interventions in a changing geopolitical environment.

Better Know a Non-Nuke: Brazil

Leonardo Bandarra on “The Arms Control Primer” podcast

How did Brazil move from a secret military programme to regional safeguards and a leading role in global disarmament debates? In the latest episode of the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ “The Arms Control Primer” podcast, Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with INEF researcher Dr Leonardo Bandarra and Professor Carlo Patti (University of Padua) about Brazil’s nuclear history, from early ambitions and the military-era parallel programme to cooperation with Argentina, the creation of ABACC and Brazil’s eventual accession to the NPT. They explore what Brazil’s case reveals about autonomy, secrecy, safeguards and the wider challenges of the global nuclear order.

Listen to the interview here.