Peace & Security
We seek to understand atrocities and the politics of the use of force at all levels, from the local to the global. We investigate how to better anticipate, prevent and stop organized violence, and how outsiders might help rebuild order and peace. We work closely with practitioners in governments and international and civil society organizations, in Germany and beyond. We promote important debates and facilitate learning to improve policymaking and, ultimately, help save lives.
Supporting Civil Society in Acute Crises
Support to civil society in crisis contexts is a main tool policymakers use to prevent violence. But this support rarely lives up to its promises. What can donors do differently to support civil society actors in conflicts?
Evaluating P/CVE: Institutional Structures in International Comparison
Preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) is an emerging field with a wealth of experience but few proven recipes for success. Do we know if existing measures are effective?
Follow the Money: Investing in Crisis Prevention
Who spends what to prevent which crisis? And do these investments happen early enough? Open-source data and country case studies help us map the landscape of civilian investment in crisis prevention.
“What should we have to say about it?” Perspectives on Peace in Eastern Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine is back in the headlines. What do we know about the effects of conflict on the region before Russia’s renewed invasion?
Militias or Partners? Local, Hybrid and Sub-State Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq
Community or regional forces, militias, and other forms of sub-state or local security actors have long existed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and continue to proliferate. Recently, local, hybrid and sub-state forces have often proved to be a critical stopgap against anti-government forces in both countries. But how do these security gains balance against other potential side effects for governance, rule of law, or civilian protection? How do repeated cycles of militarizing local spaces affect local community dynamics and prospects for a sustainable peace?
Select Projects
49security: Input for Germany’s National Security Strategy
We are bringing together experts from academia, civil society and politics to debate ideas for Germany’s first-ever National Security Strategy.
Stabilization Lab: Improving Key Instruments for Crisis Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
Preventing crises, resolving conflicts and building peace are noble endeavors – but they are also fraught with challenges and dilemmas. In this project, we look at different dimensions of stabilization to better understand these dilemmas and suggest targeted ways of addressing them.
The Scale and Logic of Chemical Weapons Use in Syria
Based on the most comprehensive dataset of confirmed chemical weapons attacks in Syria compiled to date, we investigate the scale, pervasiveness and strategic logic that underpins the use of these banned weapons in the Syrian conflict.
Perspectives on Peace in Eastern Ukraine
Those most affected by the ongoing conflict in Donbas have a large stake in its resolution. However, their perspectives are not always included in peace efforts. In this project, we investigate the attitude of these stakeholders toward the future of Donbas.
Experts
Niklas Balbon
Sarah Brockmeier
Hannah Clement
Fennet Habte
Melissa Li
Tobias Schneider
Marie Wagner
Thorsten Benner
Sarah Bressan
Erica Gaston
Jakob Hensing
Philipp Rotmann
Sofie Lilli Stoffel
Abi Watson
Funding & Contact
Our current work on global peace and security is generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, Global Affairs Canada, the German Federal Ministry for the Interior and GIZ. For previous projects, we received grants and tenders from the German Foundation for Peace Research, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the European Commission’s Horizon2020 research funding scheme, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Konrad Adenauer, Friedrich Ebert and Heinrich Böll Foundations, the Volkswagen Foundation in cooperation with Compagnia di San Paolo and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, the Jeyroudi Foundation, UN Secretariat’s Department for Peacekeeping Operations, as well as Humanity United.
For more information, please contact Philipp Rotmann.
