To overcome war and violent conflicts, building and strengthening institutions for peace is crucial. This includes power-sharing governments, security sector reform and other processes. We investigate these and pay equal attention to institutions and processes that may obstruct peace.

Around 80 million people have been forcibly displaced by war or political violence worldwide. Several millions more have fled because of environmental disasters and socio-economic marginalisation. We focus on the background of this phenomenon in the regions of origin.

Religion is socially important and affects politics and socioeconomic developments in multiple ways. In recent years, religion has become increasingly contentious. Terrorist attacks, armed conflict and xenophobia have been making headlines. At the same time, religion can also contribute to peace.

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

Authoritarian practices are not only used in non-democratic regimes. They can increasingly be found also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show. Learn more about the GIGA‘s research and knowledge transfer on the topic.

We work on the politics of climate change. We investigate options to enable low and middle income countries to achieve lower-carbon trajectories without compromising economic development and poverty reduction and study the role of the Global South in international climate negotiations.

The Indo-Pacific has emerged as the world’s economic and strategic centre of gravity, in which established and rising powers compete with each other. Learn more about the GIGA’s research, policy exchange and knowledge transfer activities on this mega region, focusing on the perspectives of governmental and non-governmental actors.

Russia's attack on Ukraine once again raises the question of the effectiveness of sanctions. Economic sanctions are a popular foreign policy tool for addressing a wide range of international challenges including conflicts, human rights violations, or terrorism. Learn more about GIGA's research on this topic.

The trade war between the US and China and the deadlocks in the World Trade Organisation are two examples of the current crisis of globalisation. We investigate how the world trade order is influenced by domestic concerns, international negotiations, and geo-economic competition.

Multilateralism and global institutions are under severe challenge. We investigate the causes and repercussions of these problems, provide theoretical and empirical analyses of different institutions, and contribute to policy and public debates on reform.

Social protection shields people against health crisis and other shocks and can help people overcome poverty traps. We do research on a wide range of crucial social, economic, and political issues related to the design, scope, and implementation challenges of social protection programs.

Many rural areas in the Global South are facing tremendous challenges including persistent poverty, demographic pressure, climatic change and an eroding resource base. Competition for land and resources affects the lives of rural populations in multiple ways.

Large parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are being very seriously affected by the disease, and the states of the Global South are showing a wide variation in their reactions. Learn more how the GIGA contributes to addressing the worldwide repercussions of the pandemic.

The global digital transformation is changing how we live and work, as well as how states relate to each other. Our researchers are analysing new opportunities/ challenges of digitalisation in the Global South and instruments of foreign policy, such as digital diplomacy and cyber sanctions.

To overcome war and violent conflicts, building and strengthening institutions for peace is crucial. This includes power-sharing governments, security sector reform and other processes. We investigate these and pay equal attention to institutions and processes that may obstruct peace.

Around 80 million people have been forcibly displaced by war or political violence worldwide. Several millions more have fled because of environmental disasters and socio-economic marginalisation. We focus on the background of this phenomenon in the regions of origin.

Religion is socially important and affects politics and socioeconomic developments in multiple ways. In recent years, religion has become increasingly contentious. Terrorist attacks, armed conflict and xenophobia have been making headlines. At the same time, religion can also contribute to peace.

To prevent human rights violations in global agricultural supply chains, various approaches exist at national, regional, and international levels. Yet, these approaches are often little aligned. The side event aims to explore potential synergies to improve enforcement of human rights in global agricultural production.

Many people fear rigged elections, when, on 2 October 2022, more than 150 million Brazilians are called to vote. President Jair Bolsonaro, seeking re-election, has repeatedly impugned the voting system. At this GIGA Forum, experts explore flawed, corrupt, or failed elections in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Video of event now online!

For the launch of the International Affairs Centenary special issue “International relations: the ‘how not to’ guide”, Chatham House invites for a discussion with Prof. Drezner, Prof. Narlikar, and Prof. Rosoux on how policymakers and researchers can learn from the worst pitfalls. Video is online.

This GIGA Forum addresses the root causes of the protests in Iran and their significance at the domestic, regional, and international levels.

This year’s Forum on Globalization and Industrialization, taking place on 6 December, is organized under the theme “Sustainable Supply Chains in Times of Multiple Crises”, reinforcing collaboration between UNIDO, BMZ, IDOS, and the GIGA. Join this event either on-site in Vienna or online.

This webinar examines the recent interest in hydrogen energy among political and economic leaders in the oil and gas producing states of the GCC. The discussants draw on their expertise in the Middle East and energy geopolitics to raise further questions about the future of hydrogen energy development in Europe and beyond.

The European Union and Germany are implementing strategies for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. How does South Korea fit into the picture? In this GIGA Talk, we will present and discuss findings from a collaborative, policy-oriented research project examining the potential scope for closer cooperation therewith.

The Franco-German Observatory invites key actors from the Indo-Pacific to discuss questions of a strategic nature, of economic interdependence and independence, and the expectations the countries of the Indo-Pacific might have towards the “West”. Upcoming talk by Hasan Alhasan.

In Zeiten multipler Krisen, wächst der Druck auf die Ressource Land ungebrochen. Aufbauend auf dem 10-jährige Jubiläum der VGGT unterstreicht das Panel mit u.a. Renate Künast, Mathias Mogge und Ellen O. Pratt, die Relevanz von gerechtem Landzugang für die globale Ernährungssicherung.

Lecture by Juliette Crespin-Boucaud, Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the EthnicGoods project at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).

This first ever conference on "Integrated Earth System Research" will be held on 8 and 9 November 2022 at Telegraphenberg, Potsdam. It is dedicated to scientific advances towards a coherent understanding of the increasing human impacts on the Earth system, their societal consequences, and respective governance challenges.

This GIGA Forum focuses on the foreign policies of three powers: India, Turkey, and Indonesia. Our experts will investigate the domestic roots and the consequences of their status-seeking strategies, and their respective abilities to help shape a changing global order.

The GIGA Speaker Series on African Affairs aims at painting a nuanced picture of sub-Saharan Africa by discussing political and socio-economic developments on a regular basis.

As protests and human rights violations prevail in Iran, the Islamic Republic continues to orient itself towards the east, stepping up its relations with China, Russia, and India. This GIGA Talk seeks to shed light on this key strategic turn.

The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is widely regarded as being set to be one of the most important political events of the year. Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term as state president. In this GIGA Forum, experts will discuss the political and economic implications hereof. Video of event now online!

Brazil, one of Global South’s largest democracies, is heading for the decisive second round of its presidential elections on Sunday 30 October. However, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly threatened not to accept the vote if he should lose. At this GIGA Talk, we will discuss the consequences for Brazil and its relationship with Europe. Video now online!

To prevent human rights violations in global agricultural supply chains, various approaches exist at national, regional, and international levels. Yet, these approaches are often little aligned. The side event aims to explore potential synergies to improve enforcement of human rights in global agricultural production.

Many people fear rigged elections, when, on 2 October 2022, more than 150 million Brazilians are called to vote. President Jair Bolsonaro, seeking re-election, has repeatedly impugned the voting system. At this GIGA Forum, experts explore flawed, corrupt, or failed elections in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Video of event now online!

For the launch of the International Affairs Centenary special issue “International relations: the ‘how not to’ guide”, Chatham House invites for a discussion with Prof. Drezner, Prof. Narlikar, and Prof. Rosoux on how policymakers and researchers can learn from the worst pitfalls. Video is online.