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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The University of Cologne and Nuffield College (Oxford University) launch landmark research on the history of global governance and human security in the 1990s / Alfred Landecker Foundation funds new project with 4.4 million euros
The University of Cologne, in partnership with Nuffield College (Oxford University), is launching the Konrad Adenauer Synergy Research Project titled “Rethinking Global Governance and Human Security: Lessons from the Pivotal Decade of the 1990s”. Funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation with 4.4 million euros over five years, the project explores how the multifaceted history of the 1990s shaped today’s international order — and what lessons this decade holds for the future of multilateral cooperation.
While the 1990s are within living memory, they remain a remarkably underexplored period of recent history. As newly accessible documents shed light on key crises and conflicts of that era — from UN peacekeeping operations and humanitarian interventions to the redefinition of sovereignty, democracy, and human security — the project seeks to uncover how the “long 1990s” forged the frameworks of global governance that still, for better or worse, structure world politics today.
The initiative combines rigorous historical research with a strong practice-oriented dimension. A distinguished Advisory Council brings together leading figures from international organizations, global governance institutions, and policymaking to ensure sustained dialogue between scholarship and practice. The project will also serve as a hub for training and mentoring the next generation of researchers working at the intersection of history, law, and international politics.
Professor Fabian Klose, Director of the Cologne Center for Advanced Studies in International History and Law (CHL), Professor of International History at the University of Cologne, and Principal Investigator of the project, says: “Understanding the 1990s is essential for understanding the world we live in today. It was a transformative decade of extraordinary opportunities, but also of remarkable disappointments and setbacks. The end of the Cold War gave rise to ambitious hopes for global order and stability and fueled the search for new norms of international responsibility. Our project aims to illuminate this transformative decade and, by doing so, contribute to more informed and resilient global governance.”
Professor Andrew Thompson (CBE), Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College, Associate Head of Division for Research and Innovation in the Humanities at Oxford University, Professor of Global and Imperial History, and Principal Investigator of the project, adds: “Our understanding of contemporary global governance is incomplete without a deep appreciation of the 1990s — a decade when humanitarian norms, geopolitical alignments and the structures of aid and intervention were all being radically re-assessed and re-shaped. In this project we will trace how the legacies of empire, the abrupt end of the Cold War, the expansion of transnational networks, and the emergence of new forms of intervention converged during that period. By doing so we aim to shed light on how the institutions and practices born then continue to define our responses to conflict, migration and global inequality today.”
Lena Altman, Co-CEO of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, remarks: “Today, not only democratic institutions are under strain — entire states, systems of governance, and mechanisms of conflict resolution are undergoing profound change. As a multipolar world demands increasingly complex responses, understanding how we got here becomes ever more urgent. By examining the conflicts and transformations of the 1990s in depth, we believe this project will help inform decision-making and strengthen our ability to navigate today’s global challenges.”
The Konrad Adenauer Synergy Research Project continues the successful strategic partnership between the University of Cologne, Nuffield College (Oxford University) and the Alfred Landecker Foundation. Together, these institutions seek to establish a model for collaborative, historically informed research that links academic excellence with policy relevance — a bridge that will be vital for addressing today’s global challenges.
Professor Dr Fabian Klose
Cologne Center for Advanced Studies in International History and Law (CHL)
+49 221 470 5248
fabian.klose@uni-koeln.de
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