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Author: Lisa Hartmann

Bridging research and practice: the ethics and dilemmas of socially engaged inquiry in post-Soviet Eurasia

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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 …

Event Report: Together in Transition: Lessons from the Ruhr Region and the Rust Belt

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At the panel discussion held in Dortmund, experts explored the parallels between two of the world’s most emblematic post-industrial regions: Germany’s Ruhr region and the U.S. Rust Belt. Despite geographic distance, both have faced similar challenges—declining industry, community disruption, and a widespread loss of future prospects. John Austin (AIA NRW Fellow), Emily Adams (Chancellor Fellow …

Chinas International United Front for Mapping its Multilateralism

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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 …

The Great Convergence: The Race to Save Democracy

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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 …

Parliamentary meeting: America’s Turn to Authoritarianism. Where is it headed after Trump’s first 100 Days?

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Together with AIA Fellow John Austin, Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, the Academy was a guest of the NRW-USA Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Düsseldorf State Parliament. After a brief introduction by our Director Mayssoun Zein Al Din, the members of parliament, moderated by Chair Angela Freimuth, discussed with John Austin …

Event Report: Reshuffle Research – Exploring decolonial and inclusive approaches

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Tâmara Andrade, German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Guest researcher at IDOS visited the Academy to engage with the Fellows on the cross-cutting theme of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB). In a very interactive session, she first addressed theoretical and conceptual foundations, and shared some insights from her current project …

Dialogue as a Mechanism for Enhancing Social Cohesion in Post-Conflict Reconstruction 

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Together with a delegation of Fellows and AIA employees, we visited IDOS with our Fellow Mariia Levchenko. Mariia gave valuable insights into her research on structured dialogue processes during a brown bag lunch. She gave an overview of the theoretical foundations and empirical effectiveness of dialogue-based interventions. She critically examined the question of how social …

Masculinities of Tajik labor migrants

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Transformations of gender roles and practices in a transnational migration context Over coffee and cake, sociologist and anthropologist Rustam Samadov gave a talk on “Masculinities of Tajik labor migrants: Transformations of gender roles and practices in a transnational migration context”. He presented the extensive field research he conducted in Russia and Tajikistan as part of …

Event Report: The Power of Dialogue and the Impact of Silencing in Foreign Policy

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AIA Fellows Mariia Levchenko and Bernhard Stahl organized a workshop on silence and dialogue in international relations. After Elisabeth Schweiger (University of Sterling, UK) first reflected on the analytical implications of silence in foreign policy from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, Bernhard Stahl, Sebatian Glassner and Julius Bonaventura (University of Passau) elaborated on this in …

Hydrogen strategies of the EU and South Korea

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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 …

Event Report: Handshake or trade war? Fair world trade in times of geopolitical rivalries

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After many politicians long assumed that economic globalization would bring peace and prosperity, we are now seeing increasing tensions in international trade policy. Measures sold by governments as protection for domestic industry mean that many companies are faced with higher costs for imported materials and goods. Increasing protectionism and the tendency to seal off entire …

Foreign policy and the silencing of mass atrocity crimes

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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 …

Breaking the Fast with Federal Minister Cem Özdemir: Fostering Dialogue and Unity

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Fasting holds deep significance across many religions, promoting empathy, mutual respect, and understanding of different beliefs. These reflections by our director, Mayssoun Zein Al Din, followed a dinner hosted by Federal Minister Cem Özdemir at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Berlin. In a world marked by geopolitical tensions and societal insecurity, fostering …

Event Report: Social Media Communication in Science and University Marketing

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Science does not only take place in the famous ivory tower, but scientific findings and technologies often have a direct impact on everyday life. Therefore, good communication is essential for modern science. Only clear and unambiguous communication enables the general public to better understand complex topics so that people can make informed decisions. This applies …

Fellow meet-up: The world after Trump

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International politics in many ways will be affected by the second Trump administration and its policies, whether in geopolitical terms or with regard to the rise of authoritarian tendencies. To discuss different scenarios, on Friday, March 7, 2025, the Academy invited its current, future and associate fellows to a meeting on The World After Trump …

Meeting Fellows with KFIBS

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The “Kölner Forum für Internationale Beziehungen und Sicherheitspolitik e. V.“ visited the academy. This research network from the Rhineland aims to bring young and talented researchers from the field of international relations in the humanities and social sciences into an active and constructive exchange with each other and to strengthen their skills. With this in …

MSC 2025: Side event on the future of the Middle East

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As part of the Munich Security Conference, our Director Mayssoun Zein Al Din chaired a side event with a high-level panel on the topic of ‘Beyond Conflict. Evaluating Paths and Obstacles to Sustainable Peace in the Middle East’. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati (2021 – 2025), Armin Laschet, Vice President …

Focus on national peace dialogues: lessons from Chad for Ukraine

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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.

Event Report: Region meets international politics

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Cooperation event AIA NRW/Society for Rhenish History The event “Region meets International Politics”, which the Academy organized together with the “Gesellschaft für Rheinische Geschichtskunde” and the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR), focused on the diverse network of relationships between the local and international levels as part of the Academy’s annual theme “Translocalism and Sub-national Diplomacy”.