Our Mission
The Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) is an interdisciplinary research center at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn in the field of strategic foresight, European and security policy research. Committed to the approach "Global Challenges Need European Responses", CASSIS contributes in interdisciplinary and inter-institutional work to develop, evaluate and publicly discuss European strategies to current challenges in the field of foreign and security policy.
Our Partners
Since 2019, CASSIS has developed into an important platform for the transfer of academic expertise and knowledge on pressing strategic topics both to the academic and non-academic audiences through a range of our research and high-profile teaching and event formats. While doing so, we were able to receive invaluable support from our great partners. CASSIS is very grateful to their support and we are proud to be well connected to many wonderful institutions. Together with our valued and trusted partners, we are able to foster discussions on matters of strategic importance near and abroad and jointly conduct and advance important research projects.
Current
Dossier Ukraine
The experts of CASSIS offer in various formats from their interdisciplinary perspectives classification and analysis on the Russian attack on Ukraine and its background.
The International Security Forum Bonn 2023
From 19 October to 22 October 2023, ISFB will be held for the eighth time in person on the premises of the University of Excellence Bonn as the most important international security conference in North Rhine-Westphalia and all neighboring federal states.
Our Focus
Research at CASSIS revolves around a broad conception of security: On the one hand, the focus lies on the interdisciplinary examination of traditional foreign and security issues such as inter-state conflicts, competing international systems of order and a return of geopolitics. On the other hand, researchers examine non-traditional security challenges such as cyber and energy security, terrorism and human security, focusing in particular on health and food security.
Integrated Security and Global Sustainability
Lead: Prof. Dr. Volker Kronenberg
Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hilz
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie
Security and Strategy Research
Henry Kissinger Professorship for Security and Strategy Research
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie
Global Infrastructures
Politics and Governance of Global Infrastructures
Lead:
Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer
Challenge East - Handlungsstrategien der Europäer in der östlichen Nachbarschaft
Lead: Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hilz Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder
Under the title "Die Partei spüren: Immersive Parteipropaganda in China," Frederik Schmitz presented the results of his field research on immersive memory infrastructures in China at the Dies academicus.
Special Advisor for Political Affairs, European Space Agency (ESA) Paris and Honorary Professor at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Tübingen, Prof Dr Kai-Uwe Schrogl on the new anthology 'Strategic competition in space. Politics, Law, Security and Economics in Space’.
The annual meeting of the Arbeitskreis Sozialwissenschaftliche Chinaforschung (ASC) was held on November 21-22, 2024, at the University of Bonn. This year’s conference brought together junior and senior scholars to present and discuss their latest research on contemporary China: including research on digital governance, policy processes, propaganda and public opinion. Set against the backdrop of China's evolving economic and political landscape and growing geopolitical tensions, the event provided a platform for critical engagement with pressing global issues.
On Wednesday, 20 November 2024 an informative and well-attended event took place in the Great Hall of the Bonn University Forum on the topic: ‘The Future of Transatlantic Relations: Implications of the 2024 US Elections’.
The 18th November 2024 marks a special date: Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine began exactly 1000 days ago. To mark this sad milestone, the CASSIS Institute, together with the Görres-Gesellschaft and the Fraunhofer Institute FKIE, organised the event ‘One thousand days of war. Political, Military and Technological Assessments’ at the Bonn University Forum.
We are delighted to report that CASSIS junior researcher and project coordinator Maximilian Schranner has been selected as a Junior Associate Fellow at the NATO Defense College.
What roles does nuclear deterrence play in French and German public debates? The Table Ronde "Franco-German Perspectives on Nuclear Deterrence" on October 18, 2024, explored key similarities and differences in the French and German discussions surrounding the nuclear questions.
The students of the second MSIS-cohort embarked on an insightful trip to the Academy of International Affairs on October 16, 2024.
After just three months, a vote of no confidence has sealed the end of France's centre-right government. In the dispute over the austerity budget, the opposition toppled Prime Minister Barnier, who submitted his resignation. Dr Landry Charrier talks about Prime Minister Barnier's resignation in an interview for Deutsche Welle.
Security expert Dr Joachim Weber assesses the Ukrainian President's latest proposals in an interview with NTV.
Security expert Dr Joachim Weber analyses the G20 summit in Rio in an interview with Phoenix.
In the Tagesschau interview, Dr Moritz Brake, an expert in maritime security, analyses the reasons that could have led to the data cable damage. In addition he addresses fundamental questions about maritime security.
Dr Landry Charrier in the Focus article on closer European cooperation and a stronger role for Germany and France in European security and foreign policy.
In their discussion, Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer, Prof. Dr. Kristin Shi-Kupfer, political scientist and Professor of Contemporary Sinology at the University of Trier, and Prof. Dr. Daniel Leese, Professor of Sinology at the University of Freiburg, shed light on China's geopolitical ambitions, its human rights policy, and its impact on the international order.
In an interview with the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI), Dr Antje Nötzold analyses Germany's capabilities and ambitions in space.
Prof. James D. Bindenagel on Germany's defence capability and necessary changes in the German security architecture.
Events
CASSIS offers a wide range of events on current foreign and security policy issues.
Frederik Schmitz examines how China's political and academic discourses shape the image of a peaceful maritime state, with underwater archaeology playing a crucial role. At the heart of this narrative is the ancient concept of tianxia ("everything under the sky"), which supports the rise of China as a peaceful maritime power through historical documents and archaeological discoveries.
In their article, Prof. Dr Maximilian Mayer & Philip Nock, PhD student at CASSIS, discuss the interactions between digital sovereignty and the fragmentation of digital ecosystems and internet governance. They address "cyber-balkanisation" and related challenges to the global digital political economy, including implications for governance, economic autonomy and technological dependencies.
In his article ‘Memory, Myth, and Militarisation: Russia's War Propaganda and the Construction of Legitimised Violence in Ukraine’, Prof. Dr. Heinemann-Grüder examines the narrative strategies of Russian war propaganda in the context of the war against Ukraine.
In this article, Prof Dr Caja Thimm, Prof Dr Gabriele Gramelsberger, Prof Dr Maximilian Mayer & Prof Dr Frank Piller shed light on the complex and interdisciplinary perspectives on autonomy in the digital era.
The scientific analysis by Emmanuel Nji, Aurélien F. A. Moumbock, Katharina C. Cramer, Nicolas V. Rüffin, Jamaine Davis, Oluwatoyin A. Asojo, Julia J. Griese, Amma A. Larbi & Michel N. Fodje highlights the complex and transformative role of structural biology as a driver of sustainable development and global scientific cooperation. Asojo, Julia J. Griese, Amma A. Larbi & Michel N. Fodje highlights the complex and transformative role of structural biology as a driving force for sustainable development and global scientific co-operation.
Through religious diplomacy and the use of institutions such as the Diyanet and TİKA, Turkey is trying to expand its influence on the African continent and consolidate its leading role in the Muslim world.
In his latest publication, Dr Ali Fathollah-Nejad examines Europe's reaction to Masoud Pezeshkian's victory in the 2024 Iranian presidential election and challenges his portrayal as a reformist. In reality, Pezeshkian is loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and promotes the interests of the regime rather than those of reform. In his paper, Fathollah-Nejad criticises Europe's overly optimistic attitude and warns against repeating past mistakes. He also highlights the growing security threats posed by Iran, including destabilisation in the Middle East, military support for Russia in Ukraine and - widely ignored - threats to European security in the Mediterranean. A shift in EU policy towards Iran is also proposed to better address these growing challenges.
A scientific analysis by Maximilian Mayer, Emilian Kavalski, Marina Rudyak and Xin Zhang on the complex and transformative nature of Global China.
CASSIS - Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn