Kampala Geopolitics Conference 2020

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in 2020, the organisation has launched a series of dialogues on how to build a true global partnership to realise shared aspirations for a just, peaceful and sustainable future. Hosted under the leadership of Secretary-General António Guterres, the initiative will see people from all regions and walks of life join hands to discuss how to collectively bridge the gap between the world we want and the world we will experience if current trends continue. Among other things, the Kampala Geopolitics Conference will centralise this conversation to generate insights and ideas on bold and holistic actions required to address global challenges such as climate change, income inequality, and poverty among others.

Read More

No details available for this activity.

Read More

While arts and sports are a reliably thriving industry, governments have not been shy to use them for their advantages as soft power: Whether exploited to exert political influence or as an economic or even cultural tool, the two have become strategic components of international relations.

This panel will delve deeper into the economy of sports and arts. We will explore the need to develop the sports industry in connection with global sports. The conversation will also explore the roles of various types of artistry in pushing political boundaries and shaping global conversations.

Read More

When the pandemic hit, crisis management responses
revealed quite plainly the differences in leadership and
the competition between differing political systems.
China, that first neglected the virus’ existence and
protracted informing the international community of the
existing threat, currently flaunts its narrative of being a
successful combatant against the virus while it supports
other nations in their fight against COVID19. The
responses of other governments range from complete
ignorance to downplaying risks and scape-goating others
all the way to a transparent, strategic and empathic
approach to protect and unite society.
Can we trace correlations between political ideology,
political system, and political culture and countries’
responses to such global threats? Did female leaders – as
often asserted – indeed respond better to the pandemic?
Who gained the trust of their people and who lost it? And
what conclusions can we draw for the leadership of the
future? Who will our future leaders be?

Read More

Previous industrial revolutions affected balance of power and caused geopolitical disruptions of gigantic proportions. The discovery of gun powder, for instance, strengthened the military might of European countries
that enabled a new type of warfare previously unknown to the world. But the geopolitical disruptions by the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) are unmatched. Boundaries of all sorts have been blurred by a non-transparent plethora of actors, including large technology firms, sub and non-state actors, digitally mobilised communities and even influential or vocal individuals. And in this new age of Big Data, Blockchain and the Internet of Things, fundamental questions around data ownership and usage require answers that speak to the complexity of the controversies.

In the political sphere, questions around statehood and control might arise as the 4IR advances. Will power be
transferred to those in possession of data? Will data revolutionise warfare? Is a different kind of arms race looming? And which control mechanisms are necessary to contain it? Will the traditional Westphalian state hold up against the exclaimed “platform planet”? Or could a “cloud state” compete for political and civic space with traditional power holders?

Read More

Can women make the world more peaceful, more connected or even more thriving? Yes, they can, they do
and examples of their commitment are countless. Not only do women head governments and ministries, rescue
their lives on the ground, mitigate the most challenging conflicts and help prevent them, they also inspire and
create new role models. Long gone is the picture of women merely as bystanders in high-level decision-making. And yet, as a field of research and through a scientific lens, “gender” has not received the attention it deserves. This leaves public action under-informed of the opportunities of deliberately including women in international affairs.

The Kampala Geopolitics Conference will discuss why we need gendered approaches in Geopolitics: What is different about women’s roles, their approaches, their skills or their conflict resolution capabilities? Let’s listen to the women who make our world a better place and let’s learn more about the female impact in security, foreign policy and development politics!

Read More

COVID-19 has certainly taught us some lessons on governance: While fighting a global threat that does not
halt at artificial borders, most countries still favoured isolated approaches over unified action. For instance, when COVID-19 death tolls in Italy proliferated, many felt the EU member states didn’t live up to their pledge of solidarity. In the US, the Trump Administration’s inward-looking policies dismissed the spirit of global cooperation to fight the pandemic and announced the country’s withdrawal from the WHO. Globally, a rag rug of emergency responses was knitted. Despite existence of multilateral organisations like the WHO or the EU, joint undertakings have been rare. States feared to lose sovereignty and mistrusted the judgement of others.

This, however, puts to a test the relevance of international cooperation. Do and can multilateral organisations live
up to their purpose? How can international solidarity be safeguarded in times of crisis? And how much subsidiarity is healthy for a state’s or even a region’s unique needs? What role did the WHO play in containing the global spread of the Corona virus? What are our lessons learned to strengthen our resilience against global threats?

Read More

No details available for this activity.

Read More

No details available for this activity.

Read More