News

Roundtable discussion – „Defuse It or Lose It: How to Defuse Interdependence Without Blowing Up the Liberal World Order“

12.2.2026 | 18:30 | Amerikahaus, Karolinensaal, Karolinenplatz 3, Munich

The Bavarian Scientific Alliance for Peace, Conflict and Security Research (FoKS) cordially invites you to a side event as part of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). The event will be hosted by Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke, Chair for Sociology in Africa, University of Bayreuth.

Economic, technological, and security-policy entanglements are increasingly being strategically instrumentalized. Global interdependencies have become a geopolitical tool of power – with far-reaching consequences for open societies, international cooperation, and Europe’s capacity to act.

The panel will discuss how Germany and Europe can respond to this development and whether initiatives such as the EU Global Gateway point the way toward transforming dependencies into resilience.

Welcome remarks

• Dr. Benedikt Franke (requested), Vice-Chair & Chief Executive Officer, Munich Security Conference – Welcome greetings from the MSC
• Prof. Dr. Udo Hebel, President of the University of Regensburg, Chair of FoKS – Welcome remarks

Panel

• Prof. Dr. Eugénia da Conceição-Heldt, FoKS Fellow, Chair of European and Global Governance, TUM
• PD Dr. Andreas Kruck (requested), FoKS Fellow, Senior Researcher, Chair for Global Governance and Public Policy, LMU Munich
• Prof. Abraham L. Newman, PhD, Director, BMW Center for German and European Studies, Georgetown University

Host: Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke, member of the FoKS leadership team, Chair for Sociology of Africa, University of Bayreuth

Registration required – please register here by 9 Feb.