New Powers Could Take On More Responsibility

Joint Press Release | GIGA, Free & Hanseatic City of Hamburg

Hamburg, 28.01.2015

President Narlikar Calls for More Responsibility on the Part of the Rising Powers in Exchange for a Reform of International Organizations

The new president of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Prof. Dr. Amrita Narlikar, gave a lecture on the rise of India at the Senate Reception in Hamburg City Hall on the occasion of her inauguration. "The new rising powers could be persuaded to take on more responsibility towards solving global problems," she argued. "In exchange they would gain more influence via a reform of international institutions. We could improve global governance if it were framed in terms of a bargain that I call 'Reform for Responsibility' or 'RfR'."

The mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, said, "It is an honour for the GIGA, the University of Hamburg and our city to have someone of Professor Narlikar’s high calibre and level of experience as part of our academic community here in Hamburg. Hamburg is proud to be known as Germany’s 'gateway to the world', and as such it offers ideal conditions for GIGA’s research. The institute’s close cooperation with the Senate of Hamburg and the Federal Foreign Office can greatly benefit the GIGA’s work. I’m certain that scholarship in the city of Hamburg will profit greatly from her input."

Amrita Narlikar has been the president of the GIGA since October 2014. She joined the institute from the University of Cambridge, where she was the founding director of the Centre for Rising Powers. In her research she focuses on India, the rise of new powers, international relations and world trade.

In her lecture, she especially referred to the growing impact of India on the international stage: "An economically stronger India will be better placed to potentially contribute to the provision of existing global public goods such as free trade and climate change mitigation, or even to provide alternative global public goods. And in this process of India’s economic growth, I believe Germany could play a very important and constructive role." There may be some real opportunities in the offing in Indo-German relations, Narlikar said, especially in light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Germany this coming April.

Additional Information Website and CV of Amrita Narlikar: www.giga-hamburg.de/en/team/11564901-narlikar-amrita/

Press Contact German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) presse@giga-hamburg.de

The German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) is an independent social-science research institute based in Hamburg. It analyses political, social and economic developments in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and combines this analysis with innovative comparative research on international relations, development and globalisation, violence and security, and political systems. On the basis of this research, the GIGA advises political, economic and social decision-makers. The GIGA has 160 staff members and belongs to the Leibniz Association. It is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Hamburg Ministry of Science and Research, and the other German states.