The Research Forum ‘Perspectives on the Contemporary Global Order’ discussed the economy, power and security in times of (de-)globalisation and geoeconomics

The opening panel on ‘Progress in Geoeconomics’ featured Professor Sophia Hoffmann, spokesperson for the UE Doctoral Programme on Deglobalisation and Global Decoupling (DeGlobE), and Professor Maik Wolf, Professor of Law at the University of Erfurt, who discussed current debates in competition law, energy regulation and economic intelligence. The discussion, moderated by Jan Ickler of the Erfurt Centre for Geoeconomics, reviewed the current state of the field and the questions that remain unanswered, setting the tone for subsequent debates at the Science Forum. The panel was complemented by Dr Jakob Hensing of the Global Public Policy Institute, who shared his thoughts on “Techno-economic statecraft in practice: The new politics of state-business relations in Germany and beyond” during a highly acclaimed coffee-break presentation. 

The first session on the Geoeconomics of Energy featured paper presentations on geoeconomic scenarios for renewable hydrogen-based industrial production (Dr Laima Eicke, RIFS Potsdam), industrial policy in Germany’s emergence (and potential decline) as the world’s leading green steel hub (Dr Jasper Finkeldey, University of Halle-Wittenberg), as well as risks arising from strategic components and geoeconomic networks, using solar inverters as a case study (Jan Ruck, University of Tübingen). A second session on ‘Critical Perspectives on the EU’s Geoeconomic Turn’ addressed Brandenburg’s data centre boom, situated between digital sovereignty and extractive economics (Dr Axel Anlauf, University of Cottbus-Senftenberg), state-led coordination of raw materials policy in Europe in the light of supply shocks (Manon Fitzpatrick, University of Geneva), and a cultural political economy perspective on the EU’s shift from ordoliberalism towards sovereignty in green industrial policy (Laura Porak, University of Linz). A final paper analysed how principled pragmatism plays out in practice by examining contested compliance with the EU’s non-trade policy objectives in EU–ASEAN trade (Dr Loren Bustos, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg). 

Particular emphasis was placed on shaping the early-stage doctoral projects of DeGlobE researchers. A PhD roundtable on the green transition under geopolitical pressure, chaired by Professor Rainer Quitzow of RIFS and the Technical University of Berlin, featured presentations on ecological transformation amidst war, insecurity and political crisis (Maximilian Hauser, University of Duisburg-Essen), the moral perceptions and global responses to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Carla Kipke, DeGlobE/University of Erfurt), and the question of whether the geopolitically driven rise in demand for critical transition materials can be translated into developmental leverage (Paul Saupe, DeGlobE/University of Erfurt). Further presentations highlighted projects examining economic statecraft in the reconfiguration of supply chains for critical minerals (Meike Schulze, DeGlobE/University of Erfurt) and the network dynamics of critical minerals in a deglobalising world (Sabrina Zearott, DeGlobE/University of Erfurt). 

A subsequent book talk by Dr Cecilia Rikap of University College London, moderated by Thorsten Thiel, shared key takeaways from her recent monograph *The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and Cloud*. Her presentation sparked a debate on the growing corporate power of technology companies – not only to monopolise data and knowledge, but also to shape societal narratives. This paved the way for the final panel on ‘Shifting State-Business Relations’, which covered business-state configurations in the context of geopoliticisation (Denis Anwar, University of Salzburg), Ukrainian defence technology companies and their integration into European multi-level defence governance (Dr Inna Melnykovska, European University Institute/Free University of Berlin), and the geopolitical logic of political risk insurance as a form of discretionary statecraft (David Straub, Free University of Berlin). 

On the sidelines, the Research Forum hosted a writing workshop for early-career researchers, organised in collaboration with the Graduate Centre “Centre for Political Practices and Orders (C2PO)”, which offered participants the opportunity to work on their texts, exchange feedback and refine their publication strategies.

We would like to thank all participants and the C2PO Graduate Centre for their dedicated professional exchange and collaboration, and the Hans Böckler Foundation and Thüringer Aufbaubank for their generous support.