The world is experiencing rising levels of violence, with ongoing wars and geopolitical tensions challenging established approaches to peacebuilding. In this context, the 25th Marburger Zentrumstage – organized by the Center for Conflict Studies at Marburg University – explored how peace is conceptualized, negotiated, and practiced in conditions of global instability and transformation. From October 22 to 24, 2026, researchers in peace and conflict studies as well as related disciplines came together to reflect collectively on new challenges, potential solutions, and the future of peacebuilding.
The conference was opened by Sabine Pankuweit, Vice President of Philipps University of Marburg, and Susanne Buckley-Zistel, Director of the Center for Conflict Research. Numerous TraCe researchers, along with Thorsten Bonacker, Felix Anderl, Juliana González Villamizar, and Mariel Reiss, participated in the various panels and roundtables. They discussed issues such as gender and feminist perspectives on peace, the development of conflict research, international interventions for peace and security, environmental conflicts and forms of extraction, and how to address victims and perpetrators in transitional justice.
Additionally, there was active TraCe participation in Panel five. Moderated by Anika Oettler, Thilo Marauhn, Stefan Peters, Jonas Wolff, Tareq Sydiq, and Stefanie Bock discussed the topic “International Law, International Relations, and the Hope for Peace” on the second day of the conference. The discussion focused primarily on strengthening human rights, the rule of law, and multilateralism in the context of geopolitical power shifts, using the examples of Venezuela, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the U.S.-Iran conflict. The researchers agreed that while international law is not becoming irrelevant, it needs broad alliances and strong advocates to strengthen its effectiveness.
See the program for the “Future of Building Peace” conference.