To mark the publication of the interim report of the Bundestag's Enquete Commission “Lessons from Afghanistan for Germany's future networked engagement”, the Schader Foundation hosted a dialog forum on July 12, 2024 entitled “20 years of German foreign deployment in Afghanistan - What is the future of international crisis management?”. Antonia Witt was invited as an expert and participant in the panel discussion.
Now that the Enquete Commission has completed the first phase of the most extensive parliamentary review of a German foreign deployment to date, recommendations for action are to be developed for Germany's future networked crisis engagement. In addition to the future of Afghanistan, this also involves German foreign policy against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. The exchange therefore focused on the questions of how international crisis management can continue to be a instrument of German and global foreign policy and to what extent the focus should increasingly be placed on national and alliance defense.
In conversation with Nilab Alokuzay-Kiesinger, a former employee of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Antonia Witt explained why Germany's commitment to international crisis management will continue to be necessary in the future and how this can be better adapted to local contexts and build on the conflict resolution potential of local actors.
Antonia Witt heads the PRIF Research Group African Intervention Politics and conducts research on civilian and military intervention practices, and their local perceptions. In the current Peace Report, she sheds light on the role of international military missions in West Africa. The event was organized by the Schader Foundation in cooperation with Philip Krämer (MP).