Today, the Peace Report 2025 was presented at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin. The Peace Report is an annual publication by the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the Leibniz Institute for Peace and Conflict Research (PRIF). These leading German peace and conflict research institutes emphasize the urgent need for Europe to reconsider its security policy and develop long-term strategies for peacekeeping.
Under the title "Saving Peace!", the Peace Report analyzes current global conflicts and challenges, offering concrete recommendations for German domestic, foreign, and defense policy. The authors of the report emphasize that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security in light of increasing instability and shifting power dynamics in the international order. The report highlights that global conflict dynamics have intensified in recent years. In 2024, over 122 million people were displaced due to war and violence. Particular emphasis is placed on the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, where the humanitarian situation has deteriorated dramatically. The war in Gaza has claimed more than 53,000 lives and largely destroyed the area. Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine continues to destabilize Europe. Another central theme of the Peace Report is the increasing authoritarian politics in the USA under the administration of Donald Trump. The authors warn of an “authoritarian contagion” that could endanger democracy in Germany and Europe. The Trump administration, through its policy of intimidation and contempt for democratic institutions, has strained transatlantic relations and plunged NATO into a deep crisis. Therefore, the Peace Report 2025 recommends a series of measures to strengthen European security and promote a sustainable peace policy. This includes closing capability gaps in European defense, preventing escalation spirals through arms control, and increasing commitment to the rules-based order with partners from all regions of the world, while also respecting international courts.
PRIF has significantly contributed to central chapters of the Peace Report 2025, including the chapter on institutional peacekeeping whhich addresses institutional peacekeeping and the question of how much peace remains in the existing world order. Coordinated by Felix Bethke and Nicole Deitelhoff, the authors Pascal Abb, Jonas Driedger, Sascha Hach, Ivan Kharitonov, Stefan Kroll, Dirk Peters, Mikhail Polianskii, Irene-Weipert-Fenner, Antonia Witt und Jonas Wolff analyze the current challenges and opportunities for international peacekeeping. Special attention is given to the increasing polarization in international politics, which undermines the effectiveness of international institutions and impairs the ability to resolve conflicts. Christopher Daase, Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann, Elisabeth Hoffberger-Pippan, Susanne Johansson, Frank Kuhn and Simone Wisotzki contributed to other chapters of the Peace Report 2025. The Report is edited by Claudia Baumgart-Ochse.
The Peace Report 2025 is now available at www.friedensgutachten.de and is published by transcript-Verlag.