International Security Forum 2021

September 29 - October 2, 2021
Hosted by the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies, University of Bonn.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's forum will take place mostly digitally.

For an overview of all public events click here

Pre-Event | Main Day | Special Focus Day | Strategic Foresight Workshop | ISFB Report 2020

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 - Pre-Event "Common Values, Security, and Democracy"

 CASSIS in collaboration with the Centre for Global Security and Governance, University of Aberdeen, and the Keogh School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame.

3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. CEST - "Religion and Values in a World out of Joint"

Gudrun Kugler, Member of Parliament of the Austrian Parliament and Spokesperson for Human Rights and Migration of the Austrian People's Party, Vienna

Chair: Ulrich Schlie, Henry-Kissinger-Professor for Security and Strategic Studies, Director of CASSIS, University of Bonn

4.30 p.m. - 4.40 p.m. - Welcoming Remarks 

Scott Appleby, Dean of the Keogh School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN

4.45 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. - "Value Based Politics in a World out of Joint"

Milojko Spajić, Minister of Finance and Social Welfare of Montenegro, Podgorica

Chair: Ulrich Schlie, Henry-Kissinger-Professor for Security and Strategic Studies, Director of CASSIS, University of Bonn

6.00 p.m. - 6.45 p.m. - “Bipartisanship and Democracy in a Digital Age”

Robert Traynham, Head of External Affairs, Facebook Inc., Washington DC (Dr Traynham will be speaking in a personal capacity)

Thomas Weber, Chair of History and International Affairs and Director of CGSG, University of Aberdeen

Chair: Colin Barr, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame; Heather Stanfiel, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame

6.50 p.m. - 7.50 p.m. CEST - "Religious Values, Democracy, and the Transatlantic Future"

Josefina Echavarria Alvarez, Director of the Peace Accords Matrix, University of Notre Dame

Clemens Sedmak, Professor of Ethics & Director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, University of Notre Dame

Stefan Heid, Professor of Liturgical History and Hagiography at the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, Rome

Chair: Thomas Weber, Professor of History and International Affairs and Director of CGSG, University of Aberdeen

Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - Main Day "Towards a Green Deal and Beyond: Germany, America and the World Ahead”

 - digital, Stream on Youtube -
4.30 p.m. - 4.45 p.m. CEST - Welcoming Remarks

Michael Hoch, Rector, University of Bonn

4.45 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. CEST - Introduction

Ulrich Schlie, Henry-Kissinger-Professor for Security and Strategic Studies and Director of CASSIS, University of Bonn

5.00 p.m. - 5.35 p.m. CEST - Keynote Speeches

Peter Beyer, Member of the German Bundestag, Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, Federal Foreign Office, Berlin

Ursula Heinen-Esser, Minister for Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dusseldorf

Woodward Clark Price, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the United States Embassy to Germany, Berlin 

- digital, Stream on Youtube -
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion
"Towards a New Transatlantic Green Deal"

Janusz Reiter, Former Ambassador and founder of the Centre for International Relations, Warsaw

Jürgen Trittin, Member of the German Bundestag, Alliance 90/The Greens’, Berlin

Kirsten Westphal, Head of Project “Geopolitics of Energy Transformation”, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin

Richard Burt, Former US-Ambassador in Germany, Managing Partner McLarty Associates, Washington D.C.

Chair: Friedbert Pflüger, Head of European Cluster for Climate, Energy and Resource Security, CASSIS, University of Bonn

- Hybrid, Presence and Stream on Youtube -
7.15 p.m. - 7.25 p.m. - Introduction

Rick Waters, Deputy Assistant Secretary for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, Washington D.C. (via Zoom) 

- Hybrid, Presence and Stream on Youtube -
7.25 p.m. - 8.45 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion
"The Rise of Asia and the Future of Transatlantic Relations"

Britta Jacob, Senior Policy Advisor on International and EU Affairs, Alliance 90/The Greens’, Berlin

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Deputy Chairman of the FDP Parliamentary Group of the German Bundestag, Berlin (via Zoom)

Jeffrey Rathke, President of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C. (via Zoom)

Karl-Heinz Kamp, Special Envoy of the Political Director at the German Ministry of Defense, Berlin

Theresa Fallon, Director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies (CREAS), Brussels

Chair: Benjamin Becker, Director of the AmerikaHaus NRW e.V., Cologne

Thursday, September 30, 2021 - Special Focus Day "The Rise of Eastern Modernity? European Responses to China’s Global Role”

Presented by the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation e.V.

All Special Focus Day events will take place under Chatham House Rules.

- Stream on Youtube -
9.00 a.m. - 9.30 a.m. CEST - Welcoming Remarks and Introduction

Volker Kronenberg, Dean of the Faculty of the Arts and Director of CASSIS, University of Bonn

Katja Dörner, Mayor of Bonn

Peter Fischer-Bollin, Head of the Division Analysis and Consulting of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Berlin

Chair: Maximilian Mayer, Professor for International Relations and Global Politics of Technology, CASSIS, University of Bonn

- Stream on Youtube -
9.30 a.m. - 9.45 a.m. CEST - Keynote
"A (super)power in the making. Will Europe stand its ground?"

Norbert Röttgen, Member of the German Bundestag, CDU, and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin

9.50 a.m. - 10.35 a.m. - Session 1

"China: Meeting the Systemic Challenge"

Markus Kerber, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community, Berlin

Chair: Sarah Kirchberger, Head of Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security at the Institute for Security Policy, Kiel University (ISPK)
 

10.40 a.m. - 11.40 a.m. CEST - Panel Discussion 1
"The China Challenge: What Does Systemic Competition Mean for Democracies?"

Dingding CHEN, Professor of International Relations at Jinan University, Guangzhou

Ulrich Lechte, Member of the German Bundestag, FDP, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on United Nations, International Organizations and Globalization, Berlin

Kristin Shi-Kupfer, Professor for Sinology, University of Trier, and Senior Associate Fellow at MERICS, Berlin

Justyna Szczudlik, Deputy Head of Research and Head of Asia-Pacific Programme, The Polish Institute of International Affairs, Warsaw

Shogo Suzuki, Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester 

Chair: Mayssoun Zein Al Din, Executive Director, Academy of International Affairs NRW, Bonn

11.45 a.m. - 12.45 p.m. CEST - Keynote Speech and Discussion
“The Indo Pacific: China’s rise, major power friction – the perspective of a middle power”

Philip Green, Australian Ambassador to Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein 

Chair: Wolfram Hilz, Professor for Political Science, and Director of CASSIS, University of Bonn

2.30 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion 2
"Global Public Goods in an Age of Transformations: Problem-solving with China?"

Dan Banik, Professor and Director of the Oslo SDG Initiative, Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo

Doris Fischer, Chair of China Business and Economics, University of Würzburg

Jonathan Glennie, Principal Associate, Joep Lange Institute, Amsterdam

Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Director of the German Development Institute (GDI), Bonn

Gyude Moore, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development (CGD), Washington D.C.

Marina Rudyak, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Heidelberg

Chair: Daniela Braun, Foreign and Security Policy Officer, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Berlin

3.35 p.m. -  4.35 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion 3 
"Geopolitics, Technology and Security: How to Avoid a Cold War 2.0?"

Cuihong CAI, Professor of International Relations, Fudan University, Shanghai

Mathieu Duchâtel, Director of the Asia Program, Institut Montaigne, Paris

Jerker Hellström, Director of the Swedish Center for China Studies (SCCS), Stockholm

Sarah Kirchberger, Head of Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security at the Institute for Security Policy, Kiel University (ISPK)

Angela Stanzel, Associate, Asia Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin

Paul Triolo, Head, Global Tech Policy, Eurasia Group, New York City 

Chair: David Merkle, Desk Officer China, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Berlin

5.20 p.m. - 6.20 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion 4
"Risks, Priorities and Strategic Options for Europe"

Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova, Head of Riga Stradins University China Studies Centre and Head of the New Silk Road Programme at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Riga

Dirk Brengelmann, Former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and former NATO-Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy

Xuewu Gu, Director of the Center for Global Studies (CGS), University of Bonn

Mareike Ohlberg, Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS), Berlin

Ralph Weber, Associate Professor for European and Global Studies, University of Basel

Chair: Jana Puglierin, Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ (ECFR) Berlin office

6.20 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. CEST - Conclusion

Maximilian Mayer, Professor for International Relations and Global Politics of Technology, CASSIS, University of Bonn

Friday & Saturday, October 1 - 2 , 2021 - Strategic Foresight Workshop | (by Invitation only!)

In cooperation with the Young German Council on Foreign Relations, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Hanns Seidel Foundation

- Online & in German -

October 1, 2021

9.00 a.m. - 7.30 p.m. CEST - Workshop

Welcoming address and methodological input

Construction of alternative scenarios

Consistency and consequence analysis

Presentation and discussion of scenarios

6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. CEST - Panel
"The Importance of Strategic Foresight with Regards to the Rise of China"
- Open to the public - Link for registration. 

Heinrich Pfriemer, Global Head Industry Business Unit Defense and Security at SAP

Stefan Huber, Senior Adviser of the Director General for Defence Policy and Head of Cabinet of the Federal Minister of Defence

Chair: Prof. James D. Bindenagel, Senior-Professor at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS)

Key factors, future projections and wildcards - vague assumptions or profound anticipation of future developments in international politics?

As part of the International Security Forum Bonn 2021, our Strategic Foresight Workshop - "Strategic China" focuses on the method-based analysis of China's strategic interests as well as their adaptation within a multidimensional approach from a German, European and US-American perspective. The different perspectives enable the participants to evaluate current security and geopolitical scenarios. The picture of the potential of "strategic China" that has been created helps to identify possible challenges and opportunities for Western nations.

But what fundamentally characterizes the method of strategic foresight? What role does it play in practice? The method of strategic foresight has long since found its way into politics and business as a proven analytical and research tool of science. Whether working approaches of federal ministries, research institutes with an explicit focus on strategic foresight such as the European Union Institute for Security Studies or the political demand for a National Security Council. All of this illustrates the desire as well as the need for strategic action within the Federal Republic and the European Union. Companies have traditionally tried to align their actions strategically and are driving forward the professionalization of foresight and strategy development here, also due to increasing challenges. In view of international power shifts and changes in the involvement of old powers of order, it is becoming clear that strategic foresight is less a look into a crystal ball than a profound analysis of selected factors and robust data in order to answer fundamental questions of the 21st century and to shape active foreign policy involvement in a sustainable and responsible manner, but also to operate profitably in a changing environment. But to what extent do expectations and political reality diverge? What are the practical experiences, both on the political and on the private sector side?

Could we arouse your interest? Take the opportunity to learn more about the contemporary analysis method within our public panel of the Strategic Foresight Workshop - Strategic China!

October 2, 2021 

9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. CEST Breakfast Input
"Perspectives from China's Immediate Neighborhood"
- Open to the public - Link for registration. 

Anna Marti, Office Director of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, Taiwan

Bernhard Selinger, Representative of the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, Korea

Chair: Enrico Fels, Managing Director of CASSIS, University of Bonn

Jenseits der Competition of Superpowers, der neuen US-amerikanischen Indo-Pazifik-Strategie und einem global vernetzten Europa - Perspektiven aus Chinas direkter Nachbarschaft: Ob “One Belt One Road Initiative”, der Handelskonflikt zwischen China und den USA, oder Kalter Krieg 2.0 - der Aufstieg Chinas zur globalen Supermacht ist ein omnipräsentes Thema der Berichterstattung. Im Vordergrund der medialen Auseinandersetzung stehen dabei fortwährend Evaluationen und Strategieoptionen westlicher Nationen und Allianzen gegenüber Chinas wachsender Macht auf wirtschaftlicher, militärischer und diplomatischer Ebene.

In der zweiten öffentlichen Veranstaltung unseres Strategic Foresight Workshops wollen wir über die westlich-zentrierte Perspektive hinausgehen und aufzeigen, wie der Aufstieg Chinas aus unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft bewertet wird. In welcher Weise gleichen oder divergieren die Bedrohungsperzeptionen mit denen des Westens? Welche Handlungs- und Strategieempfehlungen im Umgang mit China werden in Taiwan und Südkorea formuliert, die sich in viel stärkeren Abhängigkeits- und Einflussverhältnissen befinden? Inwiefern bieten politische Paradigmen aus Chinas direkter Nachbarschaft untereinander Kooperationsmöglichkeiten oder bergen Synergieeffekte, im Sinne neuer Strategieoptionen und Handlungsempfehlungen für den Westen?

Zum Ende unseres diesjährigen International Security Forum Bonn bietet auch unser zweites öffentliches Panel des Strategic Foresight Workshops wertvolle Perspektiven auf aktuelle Herausforderungen der internationalen Politik. In Ergänzung zu unserem Panel: „Die Bedeutung der strategischen Vorausschau“ stellt der zweite Vortrag zudem eine ideale Möglichkeit dar, neue Perspektiven durch VertreterInnen unserer Kooperationspartner vor Ort kennenzulernen und somit ein holistisches Verständnis zeitgenössischer Problemstellungen zu entwickeln.

Zusammen mit unseren Kooperationspartner freuen wir uns auch dieses Jahr einen spannenden Workshop mit ausgewählten Gästen und praktischen Inputs zu veranstalten. Nutzen Sie die Möglichkeit und erweitern Sie Ihre Kenntnisse um Perspektiven aus Chinas direkter Nachbarschaft innerhalb unseres zweiten öffentlichen Panels des Strategic Foresight Workshops – Strategic China!
 

9.00 a.m. - 4.15 p.m. CEST - Workshop

Determine fields of actions and options

Development of a suitable and robust strategy

Evaluation of the strategy

Presentation of strategy options

Debriefing

Detailed programme overview. 

Overview of all public program items

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 - Pre-Event "Common Values, Security & Democracy"

3.30 p.m. - 3.00 p.m. CEST - "Religion and Values in a World out of Joint"

4.45 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. CEST - "Value Based Politics in World out of Joint"

6.00 p.m. - 6.45 p.m. CEST - "Bipartisanship and Democracy in a Digital Age"

6.50 p.m. - 7.50 p.m. CEST - "Religious Values, Democracy, and the Transatlantic Future"

Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - Main Day "Towards a Green Deal and Beyond: Germany, America and the World Ahead”

- Stream on YouTube -
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion - "Towards a new Transatlantic Green Deal"

7.15 p.m. - 8.45 p.m. CEST - Panel Discussion - "The Rise of Asia and the Future of Transatlantic Relations"

Thursday, September 30, 2021 - Special Focus Day "The Rise of Eastern Modernity? European Responses to China’s Global Role”

- Stream on YouTube -
9.30 a.m. - 9.45 a.m. CEST - Keynote by Norbert Röttgen, Member of the German Bundestag, CDU, and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin

Friday & Saturday, October 1 - 2 , 2021 - Strategic Foresight Workshop

October 1, 2021 - 6.00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. CEST - Panel - "The Importance of Strategic Foresight with Regards to the Rise of China" - Link for registration. 

October 2, 2021 - 9.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. CEST Breakfast Input - "Perspectives from China's Immediate Neighborhood" - Link for registration.

Would you like to know more about the Forum? Check out the report of last year's forum.

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