On the occasion of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the Bavarian Scientific Alliance for Peace, Conflict and Security Research (FoKS) held its annual Fellow Assembly on 12–13 February 2026. Our network was represented by fellows Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke, PD Dr. Julia Eichenberg and Dr. Jan Sändig. For the University of Bayreuth, as one of our member institutions, President Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible was also prominently present.
The Assembly addressed current shifts in security and defence policy – particularly those resulting from Russia’s war against Ukraine and the retreat of the United States from multilateral institutions – and discussed how to provide effective policy advice in this changing context. New research initiatives within the FoKS clusters were also launched.
A special highlight was the FoKS side event, held for the first time at the Amerikahaus as an official MSC venue. The panel discussion “Defuse it or lose it: How to defuse interdependence without blowing up the liberal world order,” featuring among others Prof. Abraham L. Newman (Georgetown University), was moderated by Jana Hönke from our network.
