Research and Transfer Project "Impact Hub": Unlocking Potential for Germany’s Integrated Peace Engagement
How can German foreign policy become more effective in promoting peace under the conditions of an increasingly tense global security landscape? This is the key question addressed by the joint project "Impact Hub: Integrated Efficacy of Integrated Action for Peace", which is funded by the Federal Foreign Office and the Robert Bosch Foundation with a total of €2.1 million until the end of 2026.
Photo Credits: Aliaksei Lepik | Unsplash
Joint Project "Impact Hub"
This collaborative project, carried out by the Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS at Freie Universität Berlin, the European University Viadrina, and the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, operates at the intersection of academic research and political practice. Focusing on case study regions such as the Western Balkans, West Africa, Ukraine, and the Middle East, the research partners examine how existing tools of integrated peace engagement—such as democracy and resilience promotion, security sector reform (SSR), and conflict mediation—can be better aligned to enhance their long-term impact. The project focuses on the interaction between various foreign and security policy stabilization strategies of the Federal Foreign Office and those of other German ministries and partners. The participating research institutions collaborate as equal partners within the consortium.
Research Focus
The SCRIPTS team at Freie Universität Berlin contributes to the Impact Hub by focusing on the promotion of democracy and resilience to improve the effectiveness of Germany’s foreign policy tools. The aim is to accompany peacebuilding instruments through academic research in a way that promotes and optimizes democratic and resilience-enhancing processes within the respective case study contexts.
SCRIPTS/FU’s regional focus is on the crisis regions of the Middle East and Ukraine. Among other things, the team will examine the effectiveness and impact of peace instruments used by the Federal Foreign Office in these two settings. The main research questions are: under what conditions does civil society participation in stabilization and peace processes succeed? How can the rule of law be sustainably established and strengthened? And to what extent can a monopoly of violence be implemented in crisis-prone and violent environments?
The international network of experts affiliated with SCRIPTS provides a strong foundation for optimizing the effectiveness of Germany’s foreign peace instruments and for the academic support of its democracy-related engagements abroad.
Project Team – SCRIPTS / Freie Universität Berlin
Project Duration: November 2024 – November 2026