The Peace Report is the joint yearbook of Germany's peace and conflict research institutes and has been published in German annually since 1987 and in abridged form in English since 2012. Researchers from various disciplines examine ongoing international conflicts from the perspective of peace strategy. Their analyses form the basis of the editors' statement, which takes stock of pressing issues and formulates policy recommendations.
How can violence be contained when the cooperative world order is collapsing?
International politics is marked by severe turbulence. The basis for establishing a cooperative world order is eroding, global inequality is increasing, the hopes placed in international law are being frustrated. Syria represents the failure of the community of nations to prevent war crimes and mass atrocities. After experiences in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the assumption in the West that it would be possible to curb or contain civil wars by military means or even impose democracy has evaporated. Russia is operating in a revisionist manner in the Ukraine, and is waging a war in Syria to establish its own status as a superpower. Donald Trump's election marked a turn in the direction of uncertainty. Under the banner of "America first", the US is abandoning the world order policy it has pursued since 1941 and seems to want to replace multilateral cooperation with protectionism.
We ask how armed conflicts can be prevented under these conditions. Facing massive pressure from nationalists and anti-European isolationists, the EU must cope with dramatically changed challenges internally as well as beyond its borders. Nolens volens, Germany's influence and responsibility are growing in Europe and in international politics. What strategies and instruments are appropriate for limiting excessive use of violence and setting behavior in train that emphasizes solidarity and promotes peace? To examine these issues, we analyze a variety of peace processes and negotiations.
This abridged English volume of the 2017 Peace Report explores how the US under Trump impacts transatlantic relations, asks if the EU is finished as a force for peace, examines how bans on violence can be implemented in practical terms while protecting people, asks if imposing sanctions are any use at all, and highlights the importance of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development when building global consensus in the face of blinkered nationalism.
The Peace Report is published on behalf of the five German peace research institutes by Bruno Schoch, Andreas Heinemann-Grüder, Corinna Hauswedell, Jochen Hippler and Margret Johannsen, and continues to be supported by the German Foundation for Peace Research.
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