News

24 April 2009

Florian Escudie visits the IFSH


Florian Escudie, first Secretary of the French Embassy in Berlin, visited the IFSH on 22 April 2009. He gave a presentation in the weekly research colloquium on “France and NATO. New developments and perspectives”.

24 April 2009

Civil-Military Interaction


Dr Hans-Georg Ehrhart participated in a workshop dealing with the topic of “Civil-Mlitary Interaction” organized by the GTZ in Berlin on 21 April 2009. He acted as a commentator on a discussion paper being written in the sector program “Peace and Security”.

04 April 2009

CORE Presentation at International Boundaries Research Unit in Durham, UK


On 1 April 2009, Marietta König presented a paper on “Self-Determination’s Belated Victory? Russia’s Recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and its Impact for Upcoming Sovereignty Debates” at Durham University, UK. The presentation was a contribution to the international conference on “The State of Sovereignty”, which was organized and conducted by the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU). The topics of the panels ranged from regimes for managing maritime space, natural resource management, jurisdiction in the arctic, border security management, case studies of disputed territories, innovative approaches to complex disputes, or the cartography of sovereignty e.g. on maps and in databases. This three-day conference, which was attended by over 200 people, both academics and practioners, from more than 50 different countries, simultaneously celebrated the 20th anniversary of IBRU. The conference presentations are available at IBRU homepage.

Contact:

Marietta König, M.A

03 April 2009

CORE meets with OSCE representatives, Chisinau, 26 and 27 March 2009

CORE deputy head Dr. Frank Evers and CORE researcher Dr. Diana Digol conducted meetings with Dr Claus Neukirch, Deputy Head, and Rita Tamm, Senior Rule of Law Adviser, at the OSCE Mission to Moldova in Chisinau on 26 and 27 March 2009. The subject of the meetings was the political situation in Moldova on the eve of the Moldovan parliamentary elections on 5 April, as well national and international efforts in rule of law developments. Regarding the last-mentioned subject, CORE elaborates at the present time an analysis on OSCE rule-of-law implementation formats. This is an activity conducted at request of the German Federal Foreign Office. The background is an OSCE decision on “Further Strengthening the Rule of Law in the OSCE Area” adapted at the Sixteenth Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki, December 2008 with Germany being one of the decision’s promoters.

Contact:

Dr. Frank Evers
Diana Digol

03 April 2009

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova meets CORE, Chisinau, 27 March 2009

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, Valeriu Ostalep, met CORE deputy head Dr. Frank Evers and CORE researcher Dr. Diana Digol in Chisinau on 27 March 2009. The subject of their meeting was considerations about personnel development problems at the ministry and reasonable prospects of setting up ministerial training capacities. CORE provides consultancy services in capacity-building in this area. The background of the meeting are efforts to implement the “MFAEI Institutional Development Plan for 2009 – 2011”. The visit program of Dr. Evers and Dr. Digol also included meetings with Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Moldova, and Alexandru Pelivan, UNDP Moldova Project Manager.

Contact:

Dr. Frank Evers
Diana Digol

02 April 2009

IFSH-News January-February 2009 is published:

IFSH-News

17 March 2009

2009 Annual Convention of the International Studies Association

At the 2009 Annual Convention of the International Studies Association in New York, Prof. Dr. Michael Brzoska, Jens Narten and Isabelle Maras presented their working papers on "International Partnerships in Security Sector Reform and Post-Conflict Reconstruction" on 15 and 18 February.

Paper Prof. Dr. Michael Brziska

Paper Jens Narten

Paper Isabelle Maras

16 March 2009

Fifth Petersberg Colloquium on Security

The fifth Petersberg Colloquium on Security took place on the Petersberg near Bonn on 14 March 2009. The main topic under discussion was “NATO – Taking stock and perspectives”.
Among the panellists were Bernand de Montferrand, Ambassador of France, General Jürgen Bornemann, Military Committee of NATO, and Ambassador Eberhard Pohl, Special Envoy for Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The IFSH has been represented by Dr. Hans-Georg Ehrhart.

1 February 2009

Bernt Berger & Axel Berkofsky

Briefing Paper:
Chinese Outward Investments – Agencies, Motives and Decision-making

Briefing Paper

19 January 2009

IFSH-News November-December 2008 is published:

IFSH-News

18. December 2008

New Publication: CORE Annual Report 2008

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17. Dezember 2008

Security and Environment

Prof Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Director des „Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP)“, visited the IFSH on 17 December 2008. The ECSP is a nonpartisan policy forum on environment and security issues founded in 1994 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Mr. Dabelko gave a presentation on „Environmental Change and Security“ and discussed the topic with the researchers of the IFSH and the MPS-students. The session was chaired by Dr. Hans-Georg Ehrhart.

16. Dezember 2008

New Publications

Hans-Georg Ehrhart, Assessing EUFOR Chad/CAR, in: European Security Review, Nr. 42, Dezember 2008.
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Regina Heller, Russia’s “Nashi” Youth Movement: The Rise and Fall of a Putin-Era Political Technology Project, in: Russian Analytical Digest No. 50, 18. November 2008.
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08. Dezember 2008

Panel discussion on „Research Needs in the Context of Climate Change and Security“

On December 5, Michael Brzoska participated in a panel discussion on „Research Needs in the Context of Climate Change and Security“. The discussion took place during a research conference organized by the Landeszentrale für Umweltaufklärung Rheinland-Pfalz in cooperation with Adelphi Consult at the Union of Academies of Sciences and Literature in Mainz.

03. Dezember 2008

Hamburger Beiträge zur Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik #151 is published:

Heather Gilmartin, EU-U.S.-China: Cooperation in the Malacca Straits, November 2008 .

Hamburger Beiträge

28 November 2008

Policy Briefing on Civil-Military Cooperation

On 24 November 2008 the Foundation Development and Peace organized a policy briefing with Prof. Michael Brzoska and Dr. Hans-Georg Ehrhart in the Representation of the Federal Land Brandenburg in Berlin. The topic of the policy briefing was “Civil-Military Cooperation in Post-Conflict Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. Recommendations for practical action”. Comments were given by Colonel Rudolf Holderer (Head of Department „Civil-Military Cooperation“, Ministry of Defence) and Dr Hans-Joachim Preuß (Secretary General of Deutsche Welthungerhilfe). Representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Defence Ministry, the GTZ, the Bundestag and the Civil Society discussed the theses of the authors under the chairmanship of Secretary of State Dr. Gerd Harms.

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28 November 2008

Israeli journalists report from occupied Palestine

At the invitation of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the Hamburger Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Demokratie und des Völkerrechts, Gideon Levy und Catrin Ormestad, noted for their contributions to the daily Haaretz, spoke at the premises of GIGA about their work. In their presentations on 26 November 2008, entitled “Israeli Reports from Occupied Palestine” the two journalists from Israel spoke about the situation in the Gaza Strip, where due to the Israeli blockade a humanitarian disaster is imminent, and about the attitudes within Israeli society towards the reality of the occupation. Dr. Martin Beck (GIGA) und Dr. Margret Johannsen (IFSH) moderated the event, which was also supported by the Hamburger Stiftung zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Kultur and organized with the help of Anne Hinz, M.P.S. (University of Trento). In the ensuing discussion, Gideon Levy argued that Germany as a friend of Israel should not for reasons of a wrong considerateness shy away from criticizing the Israeli occupation policy.

24 November 2008

Neue Publikation: IFAR Working Paper 13

Götz Neuneck, Christian Alwardt, The Revolution in Military Affairs, its Driving Forces, Elements and Complexity,
IFAR Working Paper 13, Mai 2008

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24 November 2008

IFSH-News September-October 2008 is published:

IFSH-News

5 November 2008

On 2 November, Michael Brzoska presented results of the work of the institute on the subject of civil-military cooperation in the European Parliament in Brussels. He participated in joint Pulic Hearing of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development on "Security and Development".

Presentation Michael Brzoska | PDF

Study by Hans Georg Ehrhart for the Subcommitte on Defence | PDF

23 Otcober 2008

US Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs visits the IFSH

Mr Jeffrey Rathky, US Minister-Counselor for Polical Affairs visited the IFSH at 21 October 2008. He discussed with Prof. Michael Brzoska and his team topics such as European security, the role of Russia, problems of disarmament and arms control and prospects for Afghanistan.

15 Otcober 2008

Gideon Levy and Catrin Ormestad Report from Occupied Palestine

In cooperation with the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the Hamburger Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Demokratie und des Völkerrechts, the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) has invited two outstanding journalists from Israel to present “Israeli Reports from Occupied Palestine”. The event is also generously sponsored by the “Hamburger Stiftung zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Kultur”.
Gideon Levy is a well-known Israeli journalist and peace activist. He works for “Ha’aretz”, which is one of Israel’s leading newspapers. Mr. Levy is one of the few journalists in Israel to focus on the occupation and its on-the-ground effects in Palestine. His colleague Catrin Ormestad is a Swedish journalist who has lived in Israel since 1993. Her work in the Gaza Strip has become immensely important, particularly since Israeli citizens have no longer been able to enter Gaza as of the 2006 summer war in Lebanon.
Levy and Ormestad will present their findings at the GIGA Forum and are ready to engage with the audience afterwards. Dr. Margret Johannsen and Dr. Martin Beck, Senior Research Fellows at IFSH and GIGA respectively, who have been researching and teaching on the Arab-Israeli conflict for many years, will moderate the forum.

Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 18:00-19:30
Venue: Neuer Jungfernstieg 21, 20354 Hamburg, Room 519.

06 Otcober 2008

Panel Discussion on Afghanistan

A panel discussion on strategic perspectives in Afghanistan took place in the IFSH on 1 October 2008. MP Professor Norman Paech (faction Die Linke) and Dr Hans-Georg Ehrhart (Head ZEUS/IFSH) held a debate on policy options of the international community for Afghanistan. Moderator of the discussion was Prof. Michael Brzoska (Director IFSH).

24 September 2008

Workshop at Chatham House

On September 17th Bernt Berger participated in a Workshop called “EU magnets for Chinese Companies: refuting the myth”. He presented on “Decision makers, strategies and procedures”. The Workshop took place in Chatham House, London and was jointly organised with CASCC, Turin.
The findings in Bernt Bergers presentation were based on the findings of a research trip he and Dr. Axel Berkofsky (University Milan/EPC Brussels) made in July 2008.
Both co-head a research unit at CASCC that is dealing with Chinese investments in Europe. The project is funded by the Italian Foundation Compagnia San Paolo and is part of a research cluster with Chatham house and the University Bologna.

31 August 2008

Conference: European Consortium for Political Research

At the 2nd Graduate Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research held at Universitat Autònoma in Barcelona from August 25-27, 2008, Sybille Reinke de Buitrago presented a paper entitled "The Impact of Psychological-Cultural Factors on Concepts of Fighting Terrorism: Learning Processes and Chances for Deescalation". The analysis of the American and the German approach focused on the psychological-cultural aspects underlying each country's fight against terrorism. The lessons learned in the past years and their peace potential were also pointed to, however, both lessons and peace potential are again shaped as well as limited by these aspects.

The conference offered a good overview of current research projects by junior researchers in the area of political science in Europe, and thus reflected great diversity. The program was completed by expert round tables and ample opportunity for intensive exchange.

1 August 2008

IFSH-News June-July 2008 is published:

IFSH-News

30. July 2008

New Publication: IFSH Annual Report 2007

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17. July 2008

Symposium: Kosovo - Independently into Dependency?

On 27 June 2008, at the 2nd Scientific Symposium on European Studies of the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence with the title "/Kosovo - Independently into Dependency?/", Jens Narten gave a presentation on the "/UN in Kosovo: From Autocracy into the Prisoner Dilemma/" at the Leibniz University at Hannover. The presentation aimed at demonstrating mutual structures of dependencies between local and international actors in Kosovo before and after the unilaterally-declared independence, and at assessing potential developments in the future and the overall impact of Kosovo's independence on international politics. During the concluding discussion, the panellists also considered aspects, such as the significance of the Kosovo case for the European peace and security policy, as well as socio-political, international-legal, and macro-economic problems in Kosovo in the aftermath of her independence and acts of recognition by other states.

11 July 2008

Berlin Seminar „Arms Control in Crisis Situations“

On 10 and 11 July 2008, the German Federal Foreign Office together with the RACVIAC Centre for Security Cooperation in Zagreb / Croatia organized a seminar on “Arms Control in Crisis Situation” in the frame of the Berlin Seminars on conventional arms control. In the middle of the holiday season, the seminar was very well attended with about 60 participants from 28 States. Wolfgang Zellner, the Head of CORE, gave a presentation on “Chances and Limits of Arms Control in Regional Conflict Situations: Success or Failure?”, mainly discussing experiences made with some OSCE instruments as well as within the frame of UN peacekeeping operations. After two days of a lively debate almost all participants agreed in their desire to soon return to the hospitable RACVIAC centre to continue discussions.

26. June 2008

CORE Head Held Keynote Speech at OSCE Annual Security Review Conference

The Head of CORE, Wolfgang Zellner, held a keynote speech in Working Session I “Transnational challenges to security in the OSCE area” at the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference in Vienna on 1 and 2 July 2008. Zellner stressed that the OSCE States should consider reviving the topic of thematic missions as an instrument for addressing transnational challenges and threats. In addition, he called upon the OSCE to make Central Asia a strategic priority. These positions were taken up by some delegations in the plenary debate as well as in informal discussions. Altogether, the conference was widely perceived as better structured and more interesting than last year’s one, what unfortunately also reflects the fact that disputes and tensions have increased within the OSCE area.

26. June 2008

Conference on Missile Defense, Russia and the Middle East

From 24 to 25 June 2008, the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), in co-operation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, organized the Third Transatlantic Conference on “Missile Defense, Russia and the Middle East: Coping with Transatlantic Divergence – Exploring Common Solutions”, which, like its two predecessors, took place in Berlin. In a number of keynote speeches and panel discussions, and under the close scrutiny of a well informed audience, experts and senior officials from 15 countries, including six from the Middle East, presented a wide range of technical analysis and political assessment on the topic of missile defense in the context of international and regional alliances, threat perceptions and stability concerns. Prof. Dr. Götz Neuneck chaired a panel discussion on “Missile Defense as a Response to Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah? Controversial Positions from the Region”, and Dr Margret Johannsen led a discussion on “Coping with Proliferation in the Middle East: Bombarding, Sanctions, or Diplomacy”.

24. June 2008

Conference on a Missile Free Zone in the Middle East/Persian Gulf Region

The Multilateral Study Group on a Missile Free Zone in the Middle East/Gulf, organized by the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), met in Berlin for its third conference. From 21 to 23 June 2008, a forum of 31 experts from 13 countries, among them for the first time participants from Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, focused on verification strategies and discussed, inter alia, past verification experiences in the region and the role of confidence- and norm-building efforts in arms control. Non-state actors who possess large arsenals of short range rockets that are putting Israeli territory at risk, were the focus of a panel on “Hamas and Hezbollah as a Challenge to a Zone – Combining Arms Control and Development Strategies“. On this panel, Dr. Margret Johannsen presented theses on the firing of Qassam-rockets from the Gaza Strip on Israeli territory. Dr. Johannsen also chaired the round table „Under What Circumstandes is a Missile Free Zone Adequately/Effectively Verifiable and Domestically Acceptable?“ The conference was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES) and the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN).

16 June 2008

FIV-database meeting

The IFSH hosted the steering committee and the meeting of members of the Specialized Information Network International Relations and Area Studies (german abbr. FIV) on 16 and 17 June 2008. Since the year 2000 the IFSH has been a member of the consortium of documentations of twelve German and one Danish research institutes, that operate – with financial support from the Office of the Federal Chancellor – a common database for literature references in the field of international relations and area studies. The discussion of this year’s summer meeting at IFSH was dominated by the new online-portal of the FIV-database www.ireon-portal.de and further co-operation options with foreign partners.

10. June 2008

Panel discussion on Afghanistan

A panel discussion on “Sense and nonsense of the military engagement in Afghanistan” took place in the Auditorium Maximum of the Bucerius Law School on 6 June 2008. Dr. Peter Struck (Head of SPD Faction of the German Bundestag and former defence minister), Henning Voscherau (former first mayor of the Free and City State of Hamburg), Yaqub Ibrahimi (Afghan Journalist) and Dr. Hans-Georg Ehrhart (IFSH) hold their dispute before an audience of 150 participants. The Chief Correspondent of the Hamburger Abendblatt Thomas Frankenfeld chaired the meeting initiated by the head of the Hamburg Society for the Promotion of Democracy and International Law Peter Krämer.

05. June 2008

an excursion to Strasbourg

In the framework of the seminar “Security Policy of the German Federal Republic Confronted to New Challenges” students of the Master of Peace and Security Studies Programme of the IFSH and students of the European Masters in Human Right and Democratisation travelled to Strasbourg from 20th to the 25th of April 2008. The excursion was supervised by Dr. Patricia Schneider und Dr. Armin Wagner in cooperation with the office of the armed forces of the German Federal Armed Forces.
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