Suart MacDonald used the colloquium to take stock of his project on the topic of ‘Sub-national Soft Power: Policy, Strategy, and Measurement.’ His starting point was the question of whether the soft power analysis model (Assets–Infrastructure–Outcomes, AIO) he had developed in another context for the national level could also be applied to regions and cities. …
At the AIA Colloquium, Karolina Kluczweska and Katja Freistein presented a jointly authored paper that takes an analytical look at K-dramas to examine gender inequalities in Korean society. Based on the fact that women in South Korea earn up to 31.5% less than men and are socially disadvantaged in many ways, the fiction of television …
“Peace does not always begin with treaties; sometimes it begins with crossings.” In his colloquium AIA Fellow Summar Iqbal Babar examined the Kartarpur Corridor as a form of peace-building infrastructure between India and Pakistan. Established in 2019, the translocal corridor enables pilgrims and tourists to cross the border to visit Sikh shrines in an otherwise …
Fellow Martin Weber’s colloquium on his research project at the Academy and the book he is writing in Bonn focused on how fundamental ecological and social issues can be considered together. This complex intertwining can be seen as one of the major challenges for meaningful political transformation that, for example, halts the harmful effects of …
At the AIA Fellow Colloquium, Heloise Weber, Associate Professor at the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia, presented a current paper she is working on, which is part of a larger book project. She examines the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (UNDRD), which was adopted …
AIA Fellow Anna Shpakovskaya undertook a field research trip to China as part of her fellowship and reported on her fresh impressions and findings at the Fellow Colloquium. In her interviews with representatives from cities, universities, and research institutions in five major Chinese cities, Anna was able to ask about the significance of city clusters. …
Tamara Ehs presented her project at the AIA Colloquium, which deals with the democratic theoretical potential of cities to strengthen liberal democracy. Based on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) known from the UN context, she plans to develop “DDGs,” i.e., democratic development goals. Since the literature repeatedly refers to an autocratic playbook that can be …
Migration remains one of the most defining and complex issues in international policy discourse today. Our fellow Chisomo Banda presented her research in the AIA colloquium. She focuses in particular on young people’s perspectives on migration. While global migration discourse is often dominated by concerns about border security, irregular migration, and economic contributions, the distinct …
AIA Fellow Karolina Kluczweskas research deals with the geopolitical reorientations taking place in post-Soviet Eurasia, particularly concerning the impact of massive shifts in Russia on Central Asia. It investigates actors and rationalities of the ongoing geopolitical reorientation, as well as formal and informal practices characterising this process. In her presentation at the AIA colloquium she …
Chiung-Chiu Huang presented a research paper she is currently writing at the AIA Fellow Colloquium. She focused primarily on the theoretical framework of the paper and also gave insights into her case studies. At the center of her considerations is the “International United Front” strategy, which she believes is crucial to understanding China’s foreign policy …
Addressing Economic Inequalities to Strengthen Democracies As part of the AIA Fellow Colloquium, John Austin gave insights into the work of his Heartlands Transformation Network. At its core, John and his colleagues are grappling with two questions: What is behind the rise of polarizing anti-system and ethno-nationalist movements that threaten our democracies? What can be …
AIA Early Career Researcher Bohyun Kim presented her PhD project at the colloquium. She compares the hydrogen strategies of the EU and South Korea. Both share the view that the hydrogen economy is an important element on the way to achieving climate neutrality goals. But the approach differs significantly. In contrast to various studies, which …
Bernhard Stahl, Professor of International Politics at the University of Passau, presented his research project on the silencing of mass crimes in foreign policy, which he has been researching since 2018, at the AIA Colloquium. He is examining this topic from a fundamental perspective, with a particular focus on German and British foreign policy. He …
Mariia Levchenko’s research deals with the instrument of national peace dialogues from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. During the research colloquium, she first discussed the theoretical and methodological framekworkv of national peace dialogues in the light of the relevant literature.
The European Union reflects its aspiration to achieve sovereignty in critical areas of policy and technology, with space emerging as a central domain. As geopolitical tensions rise and global competition for technological dominance intensifies, European space initiatives—such as Galileo, Copernicus, and the future IRIS2—demonstrate the strategic significance of space policy for fostering technological innovation, enhancing …
Albert Ahenkan and Samuel Anuga presented their research project on the European Union’s Green Deal (EGD) to promote the transition to renewable energy in the context of EU-Africa relations on September 19. Amidst global and regional geopolitical shifts and the urgent need for environmental sustainability, the two fellows are investigating how the EGD acts as …
As part of the AIA colloquium, Abiodun Egbetokun gave insights into his research project, in which he is looking at Chinese direct investment in Africa. This research is not only interesting from an economic perspective, but also provides exciting political science and general cultural insights. After all, the approach deliberately chosen by China to place …
In his research colloquium held on 22nd of August, Güneş Ünüvar discusses the growing impact of (private sector) activities in outer space. He is particularly interested in the increasing number of satellites accumulating in Earth’s orbit, which has caused a significant rise in space debris and poses serious risks of pollution and accidents. Ünüvar’s research …
In her research project, AIA Fellow Tamirace Fakhoury, Associate Professor of International Politics and Conflict Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the USA, is examining refugee policy in the Middle East, with a particular focus on displacement in Syria as a case study.
How does the Chinese population view the European Union? AIA Fellow Prof. Reza Hasmath was able to collect demographically representative data on the Chinese mainland in the first quarter of 2024 and presented the results of his research at the AIA Fellow Colloquium.