Short News 2024
Podcast "Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte": Bundeswehr
No other area in Germany is as directly affected by the “turning point” as the Bundeswehr. How well is it positioned to fulfill its core mission of national and alliance defence? And how has the relationship between Germans and their army changed? APuZ talks about this with Sönke Neitzel, Ole Nymoen and Maja Bächler. Moderated by Sarah Zerback.
Listen to the podcast here (in German).
Empire of Destruction now also in Polish and Russian
Dr Alex Kay's award-winning book Empire of Destruction: A History of Nazi Mass Killing, published by Yale University Press in 2021, has now – following Italian and German editions – also been published in Polish translation by REBIS press under the title Imperium zniszczenia. Historia nazistowskiej masowej zagłady and in Russian translation by Alpina Non-Fiction under the title Империя истребления: История массовых убийств, совершенных нацистами.
Security-Workshop in Ankara
Christian E. Rieck spoke at the 7th Ankara Security Workshop of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation on December 10, 2024. The topic of the panel was the consequences of the war in Ukraine for Germany, Turkey and German-Turkish relations. There was agreement that although the war has challenged both countries in different ways (Black Sea dimension vs. NATO's eastern flank), it has also brought the two countries closer together within the alliance.
10.12.2024: Excursion to Dresden
On December 10, the IWS/WCS Master's program took the traditional winter excursion to Dresden. There were guided tours of the exhibitions on the world wars and the Bundeswehr at the Military History Museum. Afterwards, the group visited the Frauenkirche - some of the particularly sporty ones managed to climb up to the viewing platform at a height of 67 meters. A big thank you goes to the Förderverein, which generously supported the excursion financially.
Graduation ceremony on 3. 12.2024
On December 3, 2024, the graduation ceremony for the new graduates of the MA program in International War Studies took place at University College Dublin. The graduating class was almost fully represented and was delighted to welcome Christian E. Rieck from the Chair of War Studies, who represented the University of Potsdam during the graduation ceremony. The MA International War Studies is a double degree program jointly organized by University College Dublin and the University of Potsdam.
In collaboration with the Society of the History of War, the AKM is organizing an online workshop for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers for the first time in March 2025. The workshop is primarily intended to provide an opportunity for mutual exchange and international networking. All further information can be found in the attached CfP.
The deadline is January 10, 2025.
Students at the Berlin Security Conference 2024
On November 19 and 20, five students from the War and Conflict Studies and International War Studies degree programs had the opportunity to take part in the Berlin Security Conference (BSC). This took place for the second time as part of a cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Germany (PwC). Philip Braun, Sarah Gehle, Elian Hadj Hamdi, Aline Michutta and Johanna Maria Stroh not only represented the course by looking after the exhibition stand, but also took the opportunity to take part in a number of exciting panels.
A particular highlight was the presentation by Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, on the occasion of NATO's 75th anniversary. The numerous specialist panels were also impressive. The central conclusion of many discussions was the increasing importance of the massive use of drones, particularly in conflicts such as in Ukraine and Israel. This change is permanently altering the global defense landscape by increasing strategic flexibility.
The conference offered students a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into current security policy issues and to make contacts. Many thanks to PwC Germany for making this enriching experience possible.
Panel Discussion on Security Policy: After the Presidential Elections in the United States
This year's security policy panel discussion, a cooperation between the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and the Chair of War Studies, took place on November 7, 2024 in the Presidential Wing (House 9). The topic of the evening event was the security policy consequences of the presidential elections in the USA. Major General Wolf-Jürgen Stahl, President of the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS), and Jürgen Hardt, MdB, Foreign Policy Spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, moderated by Prof. Dr. Sönke Neitzel.
further information here
Opening of the New Academic Year 2024
This year's opening of the academic year took place on October 11, 2024. The new cohorts of the MA degree programs in War and Conflict Studies and in International War Studies were welcomed. At the same time, the Chair of War Studies honored the graduates of the past year, who had again devoted themselves to a wide range of Master's dissertation topics and achieved very pleasing results. At the center of this year's celebrations were once again the prizes awarded by the Chair: The two most outstanding students in the MA International War Studies, the Australian Étienne Darcas and the Finn Maisa Mattila, each received a scholarship from the Association of Friends of the Chair of War Studies worth EUR 7,000. This scholarship will help finance their second year of study in Dublin. The Chair's annual Prize for best graduate in War Studies was awarded this year to Johannes R. Fischbach, who wrote his excellent Master's dissertation on a naval history topic in the MA War and Conflict Studies. This prize consists of an honorary ring and a prize money of EUR 500, both of which are donated by the Friends of the Chair. Mr. Fischbach's speech was self-deprecating and thought-provoking, and was intended to motivate the first-year students to give their best at the University of Potsdam. The evening came to a fitting end on the terrace of House 9: As in previous years, in the glorious sunset with pretzels and champagne, with a view of the Neues Palais.
The DFG Research Unit “Military Cultures of Violence - Illegitimate Military Violence from the Early Modern Period to the Second World War” (FOR 2898) has been approved for a second research phase. With spokesperson Sönke Neitzel, the following research projects will be launched from spring 2025:
On the cause of violence. Military attacks, looting and the destruction of cultural assets during the Seven Years' War using the example of Saxony (1756-1763)
Project management: Marian Füssel
Crossing borders. On the genesis, extent and consequences of “illegitimate” violence in the Spanish Carlist Wars of the 19th century
Project management: Birgit Aschmann
Cultures of violence in the armies of the major European powers during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Violent offenses and international discourses (1792-1815)
Project management: Gundula Gahlen
The Emergence of the Polish Army: National Self-Assertion and Military Violence (1914-1926)
Jan Behrends
Atrocities and excesses. Illegitimate violence by the US Army in the age of world wars, 1914-1945
Sönke Neitzel
From September 17 to 22, Christian E. Rieck introduced the topics of Germany‘s new defense posture, European security policy and geopolitics at the "Kampala Geopolitics Academy". The weeklong training in the Ugandan capital was organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Security Policy Dialogue East Africa, which for the first time brought together a group of young academics from all East African countries. Other presentations by German and local experts addressed the conflicts in Sudan and the Horn of Africa, as well as terrorism in the Sahel and the role of non-Western actors in the region.
More information here
From July 24 to 26, 2024, Christian E. Rieck gave three papers on, amongst other topics, science diplomacy as well as German defence policy at the "WISC 2024" conference of the World International Studies Committee WISC in Warsaw. Alongside the annual conference of the International Studies Association ISA, this international conference is the largest in the field of international relations, with strong participation from the Global South. The conference took place at the University of Warsaw.
More information here
Discussion round with State Secretary Bagger on
On 10 July 2024, State Secretary Thomas Bagger from the Federal Foreign Office visited the Chair. He discussed the turning point from a foreign policy perspective with students o
Excursion to the Berlin Underworlds
On 8 July 2024, an excursion financed by the Förderverein took Master's students, members of the KAS university group and the Förderverein to the air raid shelter at Gesundbrunnen underground station. The tour of Berlin's underworlds was a journey back in time to the air war of 1940-45. Many thanks to our guides Daniel Sturm and Elliot Rix!
Christian E. Rieck gave a paper on "German science diplomacy in Latin America" at the annual conference of the Latin American Studies Association LASA in Bogotá from June 12 to 15, 2024. This international conference is the largest academic conference worldwide in the field of interdisciplinary Latin American studies and took place with strong participation from Latin American academia. The conference took place at the Universidad Javeriana, one of the best universities in Colombia.
More information here
