Arms control, disarmament and the control of emerging technologies remain key topics for international peace and security. Analyzing these topics, our international and interdisciplinary team pursues three goals: excellency in research, fostering the next generation, and transferring our knowledge to politics and society. The project receives funding by the Federal Foreign Office since 2019.
Combining social and natural sciences, we adopt new perspectives. Under the leadership of Dr Ulrich Kühn and Dr Moritz Kütt, our project team is investigating, for example, arms races and the regulation of nuclear and conventional weapons as well as artificial intelligence. We also analyze escalation dynamics and their impact on regional and global orders. The team contributes relevant regional expertise on the United States, Europe, Russia and China.
Since its inception, the project has increasingly attracted young researchers and international experts from various disciplines. It maintains close cooperation with research centers in Germany and abroad. An inherent part of the project is our Berlin Office, which specifically promotes our knowledge transfer to politics and society. A variety of dialogue and information formats, policy-oriented publications, interactive formats and the targeted use of social media help us reach out to the interested public.
We transfer our research results to politics and society in order to promote a better understanding of arms control and to strengthen political competence. To this end, we present our research findings to relevant stakeholders and, conversely, receive direct feedback on our research. The independence of our work is our highest principle. The project reaches out to the wider public through media services, events, external publications and in-house formats. This website and our monthly newsletter give an overview of our ongoing activities and findings.
Our knowledge transfer targets primarily the German parliament and ministries. In order to understand what information is relevant, in what form and at what point in time, our project staff must be familiar with decision-making processes and actors. Our Berlin Office, led by Anja Dahlmann, is central to these efforts.
The Berlin Office is committed to knowledge transfer in various formats. Together with stakeholders from academia, civil society and politics, it organizes public discussion events on current IFSH research priorities. In addition, we offer non-public event formats and series aimed specifically at policy makers and experts. Our Berlin staff also observes parliamentary proceedings, approaches political decision-makers in a targeted manner and facilitates dialogue with political advisors. Further information on the Berlin Office can be found here.
What makes the world unsafe and what are the social prerequisites for peace? What international order and security policy is necessary in a world in which we are becoming increasingly interdependent? These questions are at the centre of the work of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH). The Institute researches the conditions of peace and security in Germany, Europe and beyond. The IFSH combines basic scientific research with central questions of current peace and security policy from an interdisciplinary perspective. The IFSH is one of the leading peace research institutes in Germany and is funded by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Further information on the IFSH can be found here.
