Lessons from the Korean Wave for Cultural Diplomacy In front of an audience of more than 60 interested listeners, the AIA NRW, in its proven cooperation with the Korean Embassy, Bonn branch, organised a public event on the topic of ‘More than the “Korean Wave”: Cultural Diplomacy as Part of Soft Power Strategies’ at the …
Policy, Strategy and Measurement The Fellow Workshop organized by AIA Fellow Stuart MacDonald focused on the term and concept of ‘soft power’, which was popularized by the recently deceased American political scientist Joseph Nye in his 1990 book ‘Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power’ and is familiar to anyone who has ever …
The Academy of International Affairs NRW hosted a workshop convened by AIA Fellow Summar Barbar to emphasize the emerging importance of subnational diplomacy as a tool to reinstate Pak-German relations with the involvement of youth, academic cooperation, and cultural exchange. This event took place at a historically authentic location, as the premises of the AIA …
From October 29 to November 1, 2025, the ninth International Security Forum Bonn (ISFB) took place, organized by the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) at the University of Bonn. The AIA NRW was once again a cooperation partner this year and participated with its team and fellows in the discussions on …
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. …
John Horack, Vice President for Research and inaugural holder of the Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy at Ohio State University, visited the Academy to discuss the future of transatlantic cooperation in space. In his keynote speech, he reviewed the history of space travel, focusing in particular on the contribution made by German engineers. He …
The Academy of International Affairs NRW was once again represented with a stand at the United Nations Day organized by the City of Bonn. It was once again a great pleasure for us to exchange ideas with our partner institutions and the many institutions of international Bonn: Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Entwicklungsdienste e.V., Auswärtiges Amt, BFIO – …
By Martin Wein, General-Anzeiger Bonn, 28 September 2025 In an interview with journalist Martin Wein, John Austin, Fellow at the Academy for Foreign Affairs in Bonn, argues that Germany must assume greater leadership in defending liberal democracy. The American political scientist contends that the United States has relinquished its traditional global role under Donald Trump’s …
As part of a hybrid event, AIA Fellow John Austin brought together innovation leaders and ecosystem builders from the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe to discuss the development of university-based innovation ecosystems in transatlantic cooperation. The discussion focused on why Europe, compared to the US, has long been unable to create the ideal conditions …
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 …
As part of the Bonn Symposium, organized by the Development & Peace Foundation, the AIA NRW hosted the first panel discussion on the topic of “Peace with or protection from Russia? Rethinking Europe’s security after Ukraine.” Moderated by AIA Associate Fellow Mariia Levchenko, we discussed with Dr. Christina Horváth-Stenner, Head of the Europe Department at …
Unpacking the Performative Nature of Meaningful Youth Participation AIA Fellow Chisomo Banda hosted an interactive workshop on youth participation and integration. The workshop focused in particular on the challenge of tokenism in politics. Roen von der Marve, co-founder of Impacting Youth, presented the study on “Youth perspectives and engagement on sustainability” developed at the Managing …
The magazine Arbeit & Wirtschaft published an interview with political scientist and AIA NRW Fellow Tamara Ehs, in which she analyzes the current crisis of democracy in Austria. According to Ehs, many people feel that they are not represented politically, and some even entertain the idea of a “friendly dictator.” Democracy must therefore deliver on …
Europe’s Strategic Role and the Future of Transatlantic Relations As part of a public evening event, the Academy, together with AmerikaHaus NRW, hosted a panel discussion with the former foreign policy advisor to the German Chancellor, former German Ambassador to the UN and MSC Director Christoph Heusgen. Drawing on his wealth of experience, he spoke …
European International Studies Association (EISA), Bologna, 25-29 August A delegation from AIA NRW attended the biggest annual European conference for international politics in Bologna to present their ongoing research and catch up with the latest debates in the field. Fellows Chiung-Chiu Huang and Anna Shpakovskaya as well as Katja Freistein from the Academy participated in …
On 15 August, Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media, and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the Academy. He spoke with our Director Mayssoun Zein Al Din and the AIA team on the substantive contributions of our Fellows to the academic and intellectual landscape of North …
The European Forum Alpbach took place in August under the motto ‘Recharge Europe,’ with the US-American Heritage Foundation also participating. Fellow Tamara Ehs is a member of the forum’s scientific advisory board and spoke about the development of liberal democracies in Europe in an interview with the renowned newspaper “Der Standard”. Her research focuses on …
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 …
Consul General Preeti V. Shah, U.S. Consulate General in Düsseldorf, welcomed our Fellows Chisomo Banda, Chiung-Chiu Huang, Chelsea Haramia, Inna Supac, and Anna Shpakovskaya, for an in-depth exchange focused on international research cooperation and the value of shared global standards. The meeting fostered a rich interdisciplinary dialogue on timely global issues, including the shifting dynamics …
Professor Chih-yu Shih from Tongji University in Shanghai visited the AIA and discussed new perspectives on international relations with the Fellows in a Global Policy Dialogue. For some time now, scholars from the Global South have been providing an impetus for a critical reflection on the canon of classical theories developed primarily by Western researchers. …