Peace & Security

Wars and violent conflicts are on the rise. We look for ways to gauge future threats, (re)build a robust European security architecture, safeguard Europe’s economic security, and improve externally-assisted stabilization and peacebuilding. Working closely with practitioners in governments, international organizations and civil society, we offer analyses and advice, and facilitate learning and debate beyond conventional patterns.

Study

Never Say Never: Learning Lessons from Afghanistan Reviews

Looking at the most substantive reviews conducted to date on the international intervention in Afghanistan, are there signs that different actors have jointly learned from it?

By Tina Blohm, Philipp Rotmann, Florian Weigand
Study

Making Foresight Count: Success Factors for Futures Analysis in Foreign and Security Policy

Ever wondered how different types of futures analysis could help improve policy processes, and how to implement them successfully? Based on insights from three projects, this study offers inspiration and guidance.

Study

“They Came to ‘Liberate’ Us and Left Us with Nothing”

Public debates about Russia’s occupation tend to focus on the territorial aspects of the war. But the sharp end of occupation is felt by Ukrainians who populate these spots on the map’. By centering their experiences, this study sheds light on the human cost of Russia’s occupation practice.

Study

Safe Zones: Opportunities, Limits, Dilemmas

We analyzed safe zones, their establishement and enforcement as a way to protect civilian populations from mass atrocities. This study aims to bring safe zones back to the center of the peace and security policy debate in Germany.

Foresight and Gaming

Sometimes, innovative analysis is a matter of changing perspectives. At GPPi, we are working with the methodologies of foresight and gaming – they help us to escape key limitations of traditional analytical techniques, and to identify hidden challenges and opportunities. Foresight tools limit our cognitive and social biases, which otherwise restrict what kinds of futures we can imagine and prepare for. Gaming allows us to play out potential policy changes interactively and to explore possible effects realistically. The crucial upside: there are no real-life consequences – and it is much faster. 

Current Projects

Project

Plugging the EU’s Funding Gap in Peace and Security

With war on its doorstep, the European Union urgently needs to become a more effective security actor – but lacks long-term funding for peace and security. Our team will bring together key stakeholders to delve into the EU’s funding gap.

Project

Strategic Foresight and Anticipatory Action

Governments and organizations are increasingly adopting foresight methods to anticipate and mitigate crises. Which methods help prevent crises? And how can they be used to develop methodological innovations to avert crises in Europe and beyond?

Project

Thinking the War From the End: Insights for the War Against Ukraine

To conceive of a politically sustainable end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the project team will be identifying benchmarks for future peacekeeping and analyzing global stakeholders’ perspectives on the war.

Project

PrEval: Improving Violent Extremism Prevention Through Evaluation

Together with the PrEval consortium, we are developing evaluation designs to assess Germany’s needs and capacities in preventing violent extremism.

Project

Political Tools for Managing Crises in Africa

The African continent faces several governance and security challenges, ranging from civil wars to coups and violent extremism. Previous policy responses, both African and European, have often been inadequate. We propose policy recommendations for long-term stabilization.

Project

REUNIR: Future-Proofing EU Security, Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood Policies

To bolster the resilience of EU candidate countries (both current and future) in this new age of international relations, Brussels needs to strengthen its foreign policy and security toolboxes.

Project

Feminist Perspectives for Supporting Ukraine

GPPi is conducting a research project that delves into feminist analyses of Russia’s war on Ukraine and sheds light on what international actors can do to support Ukraine in a gender-transformative way.

Project

Follow the Money: Local Peacebuilding and Stabilization

To help donors invest financial resources for peace and security more effectively, and empower local actors to pursue their own strategies to reduce violence and achieve peace, this project takes stock of decades of international peace contributions.

Reforming (In)Security

During and after armed conflict, who protects and who threatens people are crucial questions for governments and their international supporters. What happens when civilians who have taken up arms are asked to stand down? How should governments go about managing hybrid, sub-state armed forces and militias? And what are ways to reintegrate veterans into society during and after war? GPPi experts conducted extensive research on security governance in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, the Western Balkans and beyond.

Featured Publications

Study

Close the Gap: How to Leverage Local Analysis for Stabilization and Peacebuilding

Without a granular understanding of the political dynamics at work in places where violence occurs, even the best-intentioned stabilization efforts may go wrong. Local analysis can help, but using it requires sustained investment.

Study

Digital Threats to Elections: Learning From What Has Worked in Africa

To help donors and implementers better mitigate digital threats and safeguard elections, this study relays insights from successful efforts by international, national and local organizations working across the African continent.

Study

Building Peace, the Feminist Foreign Policy Way: Good Practices

How can a feminist foreign policy translate into a more feminist way of peacebuilding? An overview of good practices and real-world examples that implement principles of an ambitious feminist foreign policy in practice.

Study

Supporting Civil Society in Acute Crises

Support to civil society is a main tool policymakers use to prevent confilict. How can donors do it better?

Study

How Democracy Promoters Can Respond to Populist Protests

When populist protest movements gain traction, external democracy backers usually look to contain the groups organizing the protests. But the Brazilian experience suggests that there are other approaches worth considering.

Study

Building Evaluation Capacity to Improve Extremism Prevention

Evaluation toolkits can help practitioners in extremism prevention understand what does and doesn’t work and improve programs accordingly. But there is little evidence about what makes such resources effective. This study recommends steps toolkit developers and funders can take to maximize the value of their instruments.

Commentary

Zentrum für Zukunft: Warum ein Nationaler Sicherheitsrat nicht ausreicht

Ein Nationaler Sicherheitsrat allein kann die Defizite bei strategischer Vorausschau in Deutschland nicht beheben, so Sarah Bressan vom Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi). Stattdessen solle ein Zentrum für Zukunft mit einem wissenschaftlichen Stab etabliert werden.
Explainer

Germany’s Budget Compromise: Cutting Corners is a Losing Strategy

The Ampel coalition’s dismal prospects for reelection next year have bred desperation. Its recent budget compromise does not just make funding defense a challenge for the next government, but also keeps hollowing out key tools to promote Germany’s core interests and commitments abroad.

Rethinking Economic Security

Current power shifts in the international system are pushing economic security to the fore of cabinet discussions and boardrooms across the globe. How can Europe position itself amid growing tensions over trade and technology? What approaches and instruments help protect national security and avert economic coercion? Through projects on Critical and Emerging Technologies (including a deep dive into Neurotechnology) as well as through wider analysis and commentary, we provide actionable insights for decision-makers in government and beyond. 

Experts

Niklas Balbon

Research Associate

Sarah Bressan

Research Fellow

Paul Flachenecker

Research Associate

Andreas Heinemann-Grüder

Research Fellow

Florian Klumpp

Research Associate

Polina Lebedeva

Research Assistant

Philipp Rotmann

Director

Sofie Lilli Stoffel

Research Associate

Thorsten Benner

Director

Gelila Enbaye

Research Associate

Julia Friedrich

Research Fellow

Jakob Hensing

Research Fellow

Lea Marlene Korb

Research Assistant

Melissa Li

Research Fellow

Tobias Schneider

Research Fellow

Abi Watson

Research Fellow

Funding & Contact

Our current work on global peace and security is generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal Ministry for the Interior, IABG, GIZ as well as the Friedrich Ebert and Heinrich Böll Foundations. For previous projects, we also received grants and tenders from the German Foundation for Peace Research, Global Affairs Canada, 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 Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation in cooperation with Compagnia di San Paolo and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, the Jeyroudi Foundation, the UN Secretariat’s Department for Peacekeeping Operations, as well as Humanity United.


For more information, please contact Philipp Rotmann.


Understanding the Syrian Chemical Weapons Complex

We compiled the most comprehensive dataset of chemical attacks in Syria and developed an interactive map and analysis that show the scale and pervasiveness of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict. The site allows users to explore more than 340 confirmed incidents, details our methodology, and offers access to the full dataset for further research and reporting.

Learn more about the project and visit the website.

Recent Publications