Social Sciences

The Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) is the only German research institute to work on questions arising at the interface between peace and development, and combines basic with applied research and public policy consulting. INEF research can be classified into three main areas: analysing globalisation processes and related questions of governance with special emphasis on human security, the examination of violent conflicts and strategies for peaceful conflict management, and issues of international development and human rights policies. Developing societies and fragile states are at the centre of the institute’s research work: “Fragile statehood and post-conflict societies” is the subject of one research area, headed by Prof. Tobias Debiel, in which INEF conducted several projects and was represented by an international panel at the 2008 annual conference of the International Peace Research Association (ipra) in Leuven / Belgium. “Social and Political Fractures after Wars – The Role of Youth Violence in Cambodia and Guatemala” (Prof. Franz Nuscheler / Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach) was one particularly important research project, which was funded by the German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF) and involved cooperation on an international level.
A new INEF project launched in the summer under Dr. Cornelia Ulbert and PD Dr. Jochen Hippler looks at the contribution of migrant groupsto resolving conflicts in their home countries. “INFOCON – International Civil Society Forum on Conflicts” is funded by the EU Commission under the EU Seventh Framework Programme and conducted jointly between civil society and scientific institutions. Comparative studies are taking place in several European cities and native regions; INEF is responsible for the Berlin case study.
INEF has also taken on the “Human Rights, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development” project of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Managed by Dr. Brigitte Hamm, this project aims to support companies in fulfilling their human rights responsibilities and to increase their involvement in sustainable development processes.