On December 10, 1971, Willy Brandt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for his policy of reconciliation between old enemy countries." Willy Brandt not only advocated better cooperation between East and West: In 1977, he took over the chairmanship of the "North-South Commission," which in 1980 published the highly regarded report "North-South: A Programme for Survival" ("Brandt Report"). In 1985, he received the "Third World Prize" for his commitment, the prize money of which formed the basis for the establishment of the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:). To provide scientific support for the work of the foundation, the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) was established in 1990 through a cooperation agreement between the sef: and the then Gesamthochschule Duisburg.

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The challenges described in the Brandt Report in 1980 are still relevant more than 40 years later. The international community has not succeeded in eradicating hunger and poverty, reducing the manifold inequalities between and within states, or ensuring the sustainable survival of present and future generations in an intact environment. Willy Brandt recognized at an early stage that globalization entails not only opportunities but also challenges that can only be overcome through international cooperation in the ONE WORLD.

INEF continues to understand its namesake concepts as a mission: not to limit peace to the absence of violence and to be guided by an understanding of development that encompasses more than overcoming absolute poverty. The Institute always combined this approach with a human rights-based understanding of global politics. Following the founding ideas of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Willy Brandt, INEF aims, then as now, to provide impetus for political action based on global responsibility through its research.