Michaela Grün Abteilung für Hochschulkommunikation
Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

How can German integrated peace engagement leverage its full potential with greater impact – both in principle and in light of a fundamentally shifting global conflict landscape? This question is at the heart of the newly established “Impact Hub: Enhancing the Impact of Integrated Peace Engagement”, which is funded by the Federal Foreign Office and the Robert Bosch Foundation with €2.1 million until the end of 2026.

Press Release – 04/07/2025 – In the Hub, experts from the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), and the SCRIPTS Cluster of Excellence at Freie Universität Berlin are working at the nexus of academic research and political practice. In four focus regions – the Western Balkans, West Africa, Ukraine, and the Middle East – they examine what is required for a better impact and interplay of the German Federal Government´s instrument, particularly the stabilisation instruments of the Foreign Office, such as the promotion of the democratic resilience, security sector reform (SSR), and conflict mediation.

To this end, researchers of the Impact Hub collaborate closely with staff from the Federal Foreign Office to identify key impact challenges and develop actionable recommendations – to optimise both the specific activities in the focus regions and, where possible, Germany’s integrated peace engagement more broadly. They address critical questions such as: Where do tensions between political interests, security concerns and development approaches hinder effective interdepart-mental cooperation – for instance, in engagement with autocratic regimes or non-state armed groups in conflict contexts? To what extent are the instruments currently employed strategically aligned and interlinked? And do the selected approaches correspond to local conditions, needs, and constraints?

“The Impact Hub’s contribution will be to take the next essential step in developing an increase in the impact of integrated peace engagement. We hope that this will enable us to better align goals and strategies with the impact requirements of concrete political realities and to make better balanced decisions,” says Ambassador Anka Feldhusen, Commissioner for Civilian Crisis Prevention and Stabilisation at the Federal Foreign Office and Former German Ambassador to Ukraine. Overall, the project aims to contribute to the adaptive, learning-oriented approach that the German government has committed to. In doing so, the Federal Foreign Office is also acting on the recommendations of experts who call for closer scientific monitoring for an even more coherent foreign policy action by the Federal Government.

The participating scientific institutions are working together as equal consortium partners. The European University Viadrina is managing the joint project.

Media enquiries
The Impact Hub researchers are available for interviews and background discussions on the current research project:

Europa-Universität Viadrina
Frauke Adesiyan
Deputy Head of the Department of Communication
Phone: +49 (0)335 – 5534 4510
Email: [email protected]
www.europa-uni.de

Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg
Barbara Renne
Head of Communication
Phone: +49 (0)40-86 60 77-50
Email: [email protected]
www.ifsh.de

SCRIPTS Public Relations
Maria Silva de Almeida
Science Communication and Public Relations Officer
Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)”
Freie Universität Berlin
Tel: +49 30 838 58896
Email: [email protected]
www.scripts-berlin.de

Source : IDW

Send us your news/press releases to [email protected]