Elizabeth Spehar is the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). In a public talk she gives a historical overview of peacekeeping missions, in order to present on the one hand the existing challenges and achievements of the operations and on the other hand the new initiative ,,Action for Peacekeeping” (A4P).

Report and reflexions on the Western Balkans 2030 Initative visit to Berlin

With the upcoming presidential elections and peace talks between the Taliban and US making progress, does Afghanistan has a chance to strengthen the governments formal power and to contribute to a transformation into a state of law?

Lecture by Prof. Robert Knight

The panel discussed China’s relations with the US, Belt and Road initiative, as well as its role in the currently shaping new global order.

On May 20th, the International Institute for Peace (IIP) in cooperation with Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM), Institute for Security Policy (ISP) and the Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES) hosted a conference on Geopolitics with the title: “Contested sovereignties, Contested global orders? Understanding the new geopolitics of Eurasia”. Numerous experts from a variety of countries and disciplines took part in the discussion approaching the topic from many different points of view. This short contribution is based on the topics discussed.

On May 7th, 2019 the International Institute for Peace (IIP), in collaboration with Karl-Renner Institut hosted a background talk Belarus: Current Trends and Future Scenarios. The speaker was Artyom Shraibman, a political editor at the independent news portal TUT.BY.

On March 28th, 2019 the International Institute for Peace organized together, with the Karl-Renner-Institut, the Competence Centre for Black Sea Region and EURAS/University of Vienna an event on the upcoming Presidential elections in Ukraine. The panel discussion was moderated by Jutta Sommerbauer, a Journalist from „die Presse“ and featured the participation of Alexander Dubowy, Centre for Eurasian Studies at the University of Vienna;  Nadiia Koval, Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism"; Johannes Leitner, Head of the Competence Center for Black Sea Region Studies, Vienna; Alena Lunyova, Human Rights Information Centre, Kiyv and Hannes Swoboda, President of the International Institute for Peace and former MEP (S&D Group), Vienna.

On February 4-5, 2019 the International Institute for Peace (IIP) co-organized together with the International Centre for Advanced and Comparative EU-Russia Research Vienna (ICEUR), Raiffeisen Bank International and the city of Vienna, the “Vienna process conference 2019”. This was a moment to celebrate the ten years activity of ICEUR and to work on ideas on how to strengthen the EU-Russia political and economic dialogue. The speakers highlighted the necessity of a frank dialogue about goals and principles on which a restored relationship should be established. The second day of the conference featured three panel discussions  on economy and finance, civil society and the role of investigative media.

With the US administration announcing on February 2, 2019 its withdrawal from a major bilateral arms control agreement with Russia, concerns over global, and particularly European security, have become ever more prominent.

m 13. Dezember lud das Internationale Institut für den Frieden (IIF) zu Vernissage, Lesung und Diskussion über das Thema ‚Peace First – Brauchen wir eine neue Friedensbewegung?` ein. Zu Gast waren Gabriele Matzner, ehemalige Botschafterin Österreichs und Publizistin, Antonio Fian, Schriststeller, Egbert Jahn, Friedensforscher und Hannes Swoboda, Präsident IIF und ehemaliges MEP. Durch den Abend moderierte Trautl Brandstaller, Publizistin; Stephanie Fenkart, Direktorin IIF hieß die Gäste willkommen. 

Am 11. Dezember 2018 fand auf Initiative der ukrainischen Botschaft in Wien hin Gespräch über Augenzeugenberichte aus der Ostukraine im International Institut für den Frieden (IIF) statt. Dazu wurden Igor Kozlovsky und Stalina Chubenko eingeladen, um ihre persönliche Geschichte im Kontext des Konflikts in der Ostukraine zu erzählen und um größeres Bewusstsein für die Lage dort zu schaffen.

The region’s security environment has been relatively stable lately. Can this stability in the South Caucasus be guaranteed in long-term? Does it mean that conflict resolution efforts by local and international actors have been moving forward? How does the recent Armenian Velvet Revolution play into this picture?

On December 6, 2018 the International Institute for Peace (IIP) held a panel that discussed social movement in Nicaragua in light of the protests against Daniel Ortega that started in April 2018. The event was introduced by a welcoming speech from Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the International Institute for Peace. The panelists who took part in the discussion were Angel Medrano, a member of the Party Ciudadanos per la liberdadand the movement of 19thApril; Leo Gabriel, Journalist and former correspondent from Nicaragua; Teresa Gruber, member of SOS-Nicaragua Austria and Laurin Blecha, historian specializing in Nicaragua and Latin America. The discussion was moderated by Marlene Prinz, Project Assistant at the IIP. 

On November 27 the International Institute for Peace in cooperation with the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute Vienna and the Forum of Journalism and Media invited to discuss the development of right-wing populism in Europe by contrasting the situation in Denmark and Hungary and also considering events in Austria.