The cooperation between researchers and practitioners in development research can benefit the management of social transformation processes. On the other hand, research–practice–collaborations may equally have unintended adverse effects and carry the risk of exacerbating existing inequalities. Against this background, on January 23, 2023, Prof. Dr. Katja Bender gave a presentation titled “Research-Practice-Collaborations in International Sustainable Development - A Political Economy Perspective” as part of the INEF lecture series.

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Prof. Bender is the Director of the International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE) at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. Her research fields include the political economy of social protection and health system reforms in the global south and the analysis of research-practice collaborations in international sustainable development.

Online Event "Peacebuilding in a Digital Age”

Having released a new INEF Report on “Digital Technologies, Peacebuilding and Civil Society”, INEF together with the German Platform on Peaceful Conflict Management jointly hosted a web event on 21 May 2021 that focussed on how civil society actors can use and actively shape the development of digital tools in peacebuilding. What repercussions do these tools have on the character of conflicts and their dynamics? How can digitalization contribute to empowering communities? The author, Julia Hofstetter, presented her key insights. Together with three renowned commentators she argued for a paradigm shift in peacebuilding.

INEF Event Report

Online Workshop - Transnational Jihadism and Collective Security in East Africa

Over the past decade militant Islamism has become a substantial security threat in East Africa. Following the advent of Al-Shabaab in Somalia, jihadist groups and networks have emerged in Kenya, Tanzania, and, most recently, in northern Mozambique. In the light of this worrisome development, on 26 January 2021, INEF hosted the online expert workshop "Transnational Jihadism and Collective Security in East Africa" together with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Kenya Office.

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The workshop built on the work of FES on collective security in the Horn of Africa and on the new INEF research project “Party Competition and Collective Jihadist Radicalization in sub-Saharan Africa”, which is funded by the German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF).

Who are the relevant militant Islamist actors? To what extent can the rise of jihadism be attributed to pre-existing ethnic/religious tensions? How can further escalations of jihadist violence be avoided? What could regional responses look like? These are some of the question addressed by a group of renowned research and policy experts on the region.

Workshop report

Sef/INEF Workshop - The World Trade System after COVID-19

On September 14/15, 2020, the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:) and INEF jointly hosted the international expert workshop "The World Trade System after COVID-19: Pathways towards welfare-oriented trade policy" at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

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The world trade system was already in deep crisis before the coronavirus pandemic. Key elements of this system risked being eroded by geopolitical power struggles and protectionist foreign trade strategies. Against this background, the workshop undertook an initial review of the performance of the world trade order in the pandemic.

The workshop report is available for download here.

Which Role for the UN in Today’s and Tomorrow’s World? International Expert Workshop Held in Duisburg

On September 3/4, 2019, the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:) and INEF invited researchers and practitioners to address the challenge of the UN as “The Essential World Organisation: Reinvigorating the UN at 75”. Experts gave insights on the legitimacy and adaptability of the organization and shed light on strategies, reform challenges and new alliances, necessary to empower the UN to operate in a polycentric future and live up to its charter.

You will find the workshop programme and short report here.

Findings of this workshop were also reflected in a policy paper on “Shaping Multilateralism”.

Expert Workshop on “Goodbye to Elitism: Anchoring Global Governance in Societies”

On September 25/26, 2018, the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:) and INEF jointly hosted an international expert workshop at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Our focus was on identifying new strategies which might enhance the progressive rooting of global governance in societies. Recent trends, amongst others urbanisation and digitalisation were reflected upon in light of their potential to foster participation of local actors and the democratisation of global governing.

You will find the workshop programme and a short report here.