International Day of Peace: Making the United Nations fit for purpose is more important than ever
Today, Tuesday, the annual United Nations General Assembly begins. It is by far the most important meeting of the international community. 21 September is also the International Day of Peace.Read moreTraditionally, the United Nations calls for non-violence and cease-fire on this day. With this holiday, the UN reminds us of its core mission: the maintenance of international peace and security.…
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Newest publication: Read many articles from the last S+F issue free of charge
This issue of the journal Security and Peace is a very special one: On the one hand, the issue commemorates the 50th anniversary of the IFSH, it is an anniversary issue. On the other hand, it is also a farewell – and unfortunately a farewell forever. After 38 years and more than 1300 contributions, this issue of "Security and Peace: S+F" is also the last.Read moreDifficult farewell after almost 40 years
The decision to discontinue S+F was not an easy one. But ultimately there was no alternative. The rapid development of new and increasingly digital…
Latest Publications
Setting new spending priorities - blog post for the Toda Institute
New publication: Security, Peace, Conflict, and the Anthropocene
New IFSH Policy Brief: Advancing Peacebuilding from the Ground up
Why Germany and France still have different views on security policy - New Policy Brief
Statement by the Deep Cuts Commission on nuclear arms control
New Policy Paper: "Weapons of Mass Distortion"
New Book on Civil-Military Relations and Global Governance
New textbook International Relations in the Anthropocene
First volume of OSCE Insights now published
New Policy Brief: Reforming UNCCW Decision-Making
Peace Report 2021 Published
Read more"Europe can do more!" This is the rallying cry of the four leading German Peace research institutes call for in their current Peace Report, which they have presented today at the Federal Press…
Science & World Affairs: Current Key Topics
![[Translate to English:] Treaty Signing Ceremony September 2017](/file/_processed_/0/5/csm_20210114_UN_Photo_Paulo_Filgueiras_IMG-20170920-WA0011_0d807c5d8e.jpg)
About the IFSH
Drones and autonomous weapons - blessing or curse?
Artificial intelligence is revolutionising many aspects of human life, including war. While drones are already being used for military purposes, the next step would be fully autonomous weapons that are capable of operating completely independent of human control. But could machines really make life-and-death decisions on the battlefield—and should they? In this new video, the IFSH presents not only the ethical dilemmas posed by autonomous weapons, but the security policy risks of digital warfare as well. The video also explains why this frontier threatens to open up a new arms race and why it is urgently necessary for autonomous weapons to be regulated by international agreements.
(German language with English subtitle)
What happens when a nuclear bomb explodes?
A scenario using Hamburg as an example
The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been the symbol of the cruelty and destructive power of this type of weapon for 75 years. However, they were not a warning: the nuclear weapons states continued to research and develop even more accurate and powerful bombs. The risk that nuclear weapons could actually be used is more realistic than ever before. With the help of an animated explanatory film, IFSH shows what would happen in concrete terms if a nuclear bomb were dropped on Hamburg.
(German language with English subtitle)
Arms race: Dark past or current danger?
NATO double-track, Pershing II missiles, underground nuclear bunkers: 1983 is considered one of the most dangerous years during the Cold War. More than one million people took to the streets in the Federal Republic of Germany at the time to demonstrate against the arms race. The Cold War is now history and its dangers seemed to have been overcome forever. But contracts from that time, which were intended to protect against armament, are expiring or are being terminated. Almost unnoticed by the public, a new era of the arms race has begun, this time with even more powerful bombs and new technologies.
Short and easy to understand, our animated explanatory video shows the dangers of the modern arms race.
(German with English subtitle)
Interactive Website for the Körber Strategic Stability Initiative
How can the rivalry between the great powers USA, Russia and China be prevented from escalating and leading to an open military conflict? Within the framework of the Körber Strategic Stability Initiative (KSSI), a joint project between IFSH and the Körber Foundation, experts from China, Russia, the USA and Europe regularly exchanged views on questions of arms control for one year. An interactive website summarizes their 19 recommendations for action and presents the project.
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