Religion is a key facet of society and affects politics and socio-economic development in a multitude of ways. In the name of religions, terrorist attacks are committed, armed conflicts are fought, and xenophobia is justified. At the same time, religion can also be a vital contributor to peace. Our research explores the interplay between religion and security.  

How do geopolitics, populism, and global power relations influence international climate politics? Our researchers analyse these interdependencies and examine how countries of the Global South can promote sustainable development to engender fairer and more effective climate policy worldwide. 

Participating in global supply chains brings huge development opportunities to poorer countries, but it is also often associated with precarious working conditions, pollution, and unequal power relations. How can global supply chains become more inclusive and sustainable? Explore our research on global supply chains vis-à-vis the Global South. 

Global power shifts and rising agency across the Global South are reshaping international cooperation and prompting the formation of new partnerships. Throughout 2026, the GIGA will examine both Germany’s evolving relations with and emerging collaboration between countries of the Global South.

After 54 years of dictatorship and over 13 years of war, the Assad regime fell in December 2024. GIGA researchers examine Syria’s future, offering expertise on the political transition and on the dynamics of authoritarianism, violent conflict, displacement, and climate-related mobility. 

It is not only non-democratic regimes that resort to authoritarian practices. They can increasingly be found in use also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine once again raises the question of sanctions’ effectiveness. Economic sanctions are a popular foreign policy tool for addressing a wide range of international issues, including armed conflict, human rights violations, and terrorism. 

The BRICS, G20, and G7 are shaping global governance in an era of shifting power dynamics. These alliances influence economic relations and geopolitical strategies. Explore how their interactions and rivalries redefine the world order and how we study these developments. 

Approximately 80 million people worldwide are currently displaced due to war or political violence. Millions more have fled their homes because of environmental disasters and socio-economic marginalisation. As there is no immediate end in sight, forced migration is one of the most pressing challenges facing world politics today. We focus on the causes of this phenomenon in our study regions. 

The Indo-Pacific has emerged as the world’s economic and strategic centre of gravity, an area in which established and rising powers are now heavily competing with one another. Our work particularly emphasises the perspectives of actors (both governmental and non-governmental) in the Indo-Pacific. Learn more about the GIGA’s research on this strategic space. 

Democracy builds on common principles such as elections, a division of power, and the rule of law. In practice, democratic institutions often underperform due to executives overstepping the mark, conflicts and power struggles causing a stalemate in the policy process, as well as governance instability.

The global digital transformation is changing the way we live and work, as well as how states relate to each other. Our researchers analyse the ensuing opportunities and challenges in the Global South and explore emerging instruments of state–society interactions and foreign policy, such as digital diplomacy, and cyber-sanctions, including anti-fake news laws. 

Religion is a key facet of society and affects politics and socio-economic development in a multitude of ways. In the name of religions, terrorist attacks are committed, armed conflicts are fought, and xenophobia is justified. At the same time, religion can also be a vital contributor to peace. Our research explores the interplay between religion and security.  

How do geopolitics, populism, and global power relations influence international climate politics? Our researchers analyse these interdependencies and examine how countries of the Global South can promote sustainable development to engender fairer and more effective climate policy worldwide. 

Participating in global supply chains brings huge development opportunities to poorer countries, but it is also often associated with precarious working conditions, pollution, and unequal power relations. How can global supply chains become more inclusive and sustainable? Explore our research on global supply chains vis-à-vis the Global South. 

With two events, Leibniz institutes, including the GIGA, from the Leibniz Lab ‘Systemic Sustainability’ and their partners are making strong contributions to sustainability transformation at the COP30 World Climate Conference in Belém. The focus lies on creative paths for global climate protection and the concept of systemic sustainability, which views ecological, societal, and economic interconnections as an inseparable whole.

This GIGA Talk explores how people and politicians across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East view today’s major conflicts — perspectives often missing from European media. Our panelists discuss how history, regional dynamics, and strategic priorities shape these diverse interpretations of events.

This event series delves into the evolving field of Global International Relations, highlighting research and practices at GIGA and beyond. It examines how IR can move beyond Western-centric frameworks by incorporating diverse perspectives, histories, and experiences from around the world. Each session features expert insights, discussions on knowledge co-production and partnerships with the Global South, and interactive Q&A segments.

Im 21. Jahrhundert vollzieht sich ein fundamentaler Wandel von einer unipolaren zu einer multipolaren Welt. Im Zentrum dieser Entwicklung steht die BRICS-Gruppe. Was 2001 als ökonomischer Verbund begann, ist heute ein komplexes Bündnis mit weitreichenden Ambitionen: Die Reform globaler Governance-Strukturen, die Herausforderung der westlichen Dominanz und die Schaffung alternativer Finanzsysteme – eine Veranstaltungsreihe mit der Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Hamburg.

Please join us for a talk by Dr. Najeeb Alomaisi, who will analyse Yemen’s protracted conflict and the repeated failure of peacebuilding initiatives through the lens of political economy and comparative analysis with Sudan, Libya, and Iran. He will demystify contemporary Yemen and offer actionable policy recommendations.

You want to learn more about Chinese foreign policy and the role experts can exert on it? In this GIGA China talk, we will discuss with Sabine Mokry how the role of Chinese experts has changed under Xi Jinping and how, despite centralisation of political power, scholars and think tankers can still exert influence on foreign policy.

Syriens Übergangsregierung ringt um die Kontrolle über den Sicherheitssektor. Die Armee beendete Anfang 2026 weitgehend die kurdische Autonomie in Nordsyrien. Droht neuerliche Gewalteskalation? Wie schützt man Minderheiten? Welche Rolle spielen USA, Israel und Türkei? Und was kann Europa bewirken?

How can activists mobilise under pervasive monitoring? This lecture explores how tactical fluidity reshapes political imagination, centring the GenZ 212 case as a rehearsal for futures beyond systemic constraint.

In Venezuela, the United States and the post-Maduro leadership are contesting what it means to “run the country.” But will there be a chance for a democratic opening? What impact will this have on the region? And will socialist Cuba survive losing its key ally and facing severe economic crisis? The key takeaways from the event are now online!

For nearly 30 years, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has endured violent conflicts fuelled by the illegal exploitation of natural resources. This panel will examine why peace processes have faltered and explore pathways to lasting peace. This seminar is organised by KAS scholarship holders in cooperation with the GIGA.

With Maduro‘s arrest by US forces, Trump’s sanctions on President Petro, and crucial elections ahead, Colombia faces unprecedented challenges. This GIGA Talk examines how the peace process, drug trafficking, and US–Venezuela tensions will shape Colombia‘s political future and Germany‘s engagement with the country.

Since the “Twelve-Day War” with Israel, Iran has undergone transformations on multiple levels. This GIGA Forum ONLINE explores how the conflict has reshaped regional and international politics, state–society relations in Iran, and the prospects for the Islamic Republic’s future.

The consequences of the US administration’s military intervention in Venezuela to capture former president Nicolás Maduro, and Trump’s pledge to “run” the country indefinitely via interim president Delcy Rodríguez while the US secures the country’s oil resources, are reverberating regionally and globally. This roundtable brings together GIGA experts on Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to discuss these events, their drivers, as well as their worldwide implications.

A panel of experts discussed the risks of democratic backsliding in Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto, the sources of resistance and the implications for Germany’s strategic choices. Read on to learn more about the highlights of the discussion.

The 31st webinar of the Franco-German Observatory of the Indo-Pacific, hosted by the CERI, features Plamen Tonchev of the Athens-based Institute of International Economic Relations (IIER). He speaks about Mediterranean linkages and non-linkages to the Indo-Pacific

GIGA, RWI, DEval, and the evaluation department of KfW invite to a one-day Learning Forum on the use of evidence in German development cooperation. The forum aims to firmly establish evidence-based approaches on the agenda of political decision-makers and to strengthen the dialogue between research and practice. Using concrete examples and current development policy challenges, the event will demonstrate how evidence can be systematically applied to inform and improve decision-making processes.

With two events, Leibniz institutes, including the GIGA, from the Leibniz Lab ‘Systemic Sustainability’ and their partners are making strong contributions to sustainability transformation at the COP30 World Climate Conference in Belém. The focus lies on creative paths for global climate protection and the concept of systemic sustainability, which views ecological, societal, and economic interconnections as an inseparable whole.

This GIGA Talk explores how people and politicians across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East view today’s major conflicts — perspectives often missing from European media. Our panelists discuss how history, regional dynamics, and strategic priorities shape these diverse interpretations of events.

This event series delves into the evolving field of Global International Relations, highlighting research and practices at GIGA and beyond. It examines how IR can move beyond Western-centric frameworks by incorporating diverse perspectives, histories, and experiences from around the world. Each session features expert insights, discussions on knowledge co-production and partnerships with the Global South, and interactive Q&A segments.