The links between regional and urban history and international relations are manifold, but rarely obvious at first glance. Municipalities, regional self-government and (federal) states often did not and do not act exclusively in a national context. Their actions were and are closely intertwined with supranational and international problems and the repercussions of major political events.

Outer space has emerged as a distinct arena of political and economic interactions that can benefit humankind. With rising commercial interest and the engagement of states, outer space has become a zone in need of regulation and of cooperative agreements to avoid severe risks. This also raises the central question of responsibility in different ways, …

IDOS and AIA convened an expert workshop to assess the dynamics of contemporary geopoliticization across a range of policy areas. Geopoliticization refers to the processes by which considerations of geographical space are prioritized in policymaking and, more fundamentally, denotes a shift to thinking of power in spatial—especially global—terms.

AIA Fellows Raul Gonzalez and Günes Ünüvar organized a workshop on the subject “To the Moon and Back: Lunar Policy-Making, Security, and Cooperation in Europe.” They brought together many distinguished experts from academia, policy, and industry to engage in critical discussions about the future of European lunar missions and the multifaceted challenges they present.

On November 6th und November 7th AIA Fellows Albert Ahenkan and Samuel Anuga hosted a webinar workshop with the title “The Transition to Renewable Energy in Europe-Africa Relations”. A round of 20 leading experts from the fields of energy policy, geopolitics and sustainable development gathered remotely, representing both the European and African perspectives. The growing dynamics and …

New cold war, return of a thought of spheres of influence that seemed to have been overcome – Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle east will have fundamental consequences for the international order. European member states, whose societies could not imagine war in Europe, decide to invest significantly in their …

Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine was a trigger for challenges to the neutrality status in Europe. Finland and Sweden abandoned their militarily non-aligned status and applied for NATO membership. Denmark decided to abolish the 30-year-old opt-out clause related to EU defense as the outcome of the national referendum. Malta’s and Ireland’s neutrality also sparked public …

When gender is approached from the perspective of international relations, we often see references made to the SDGs and global partnerships around gender and development.  When masculinities are inserted into the analyses we often focus on issues of peace and conflict (eg. wars, terrorism, peace initiatives) or international political leadership, without sufficiently historicizing and contextualizing …

Dr. Mayssoun Zein Al Din (Executive Director of the Academy of International Affairs NRW), cordially greeted the distinguished participants hailing from the realms of academia and practical policymaking during the workshop’s commencement, delivering a keynote address to set the tone. Under the guidance of Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn (Fellow at the Academy) the session’s context was …

“The Council of the European Union adopted its common position (‘general approach’) on the Artificial Intelligence Act in December’2022. The draft regulation presented by the Commission in April 2021 is a key element of the EU’s policy to foster the development and uptake across the single market for safe and lawful AI that respects fundamental …

Global borders are dynamic.  As a political phenomenon, borders are undergoing perpetual change:  the bordering process is an ongoing project, one that responds to a global and regional assortment of anthropogenic and naturogenic pressures.  Conflict, climate change, pandemics, trade, technology and migration patterns are just a few examples of the many stresses, often interrelated, to which borders are …

The dawn of the 21st Century signaled that a multipolar world would emerge after the American dominance after the end of the Cold War. The acronym BRICs—which stands for the initials of Brazil, Russia, India, and China—was created in 2001 by an investment bank to signal to the market that the global markets would no longer …

Digitalization transforms museums, theaters, cinemas, heritage sites, and other identity-creating stakeholders. They began providing streams and other online participation opportunities to stay in touch with visitors. Digitalization offers new modes of interaction and might impact shaping and curation memory. This workshop explores the digitalization of memory in China. Digitalization and datafication spread out much faster …

The aim of this workshop is to contribute to the global study of artificial intelligence (AI) from the postwar to the present. It will bring together intellectual historians, political theorists, and sociologists in order to investigate the political theories and world order visions conveyed by historical and present-day AI technologies; to compare them across contexts; …

This workshop brings together academics from computer science, economics, psychology, sociology, and political science to exchange opinions on contributions each of the disciplines can make to mitigate the risks of (social) media-based disinformation and polarization in international relations and develop options for interdisciplinary cooperation to this end.