Peace Report 2016, 26

The Peace Report§is the joint yearbook of the German Institutes of Peace and Conflict Research. It has been published annually since 1987. Researchers from various disciplines investigate the realities of conflicts in various countries around the world. Their analyses are the basis for the Editors' Statement, which summarizes and assesses the results and formulates policy recommendations for peace and security policy in Germany and Europe.§§Causes of flight in focus: Assuming responsibility.§The refugee topic is dividing European and German society. Solidarity and a high degree of willingness to help are counterbalanced by rising xenophobia and nationalist isolation. Is the area of freedom, security and justice only there in good times and only for EU citizens? We investigate the shortcomings of European immigration policy and the threats to the European peace project.§§War and civil war, repression and terror, state failure and lack of social perspectives are driving millions of desperate people to seek a better future somewhere else. Many had initially found refuge in neighbouring countries. They risk the dangerous journey to Europe because no end to the violence in their home countries is in sight, UN aid has been reduced and living conditions in Europe give them hope. How can Europe ensure humane treatment and meet its shared responsibility for the causes of flight?§§The power struggles in Syria and in Iraq have expanded into the largest war currently being waged. An element of the conflict is the terrorism of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), a group which also evolved as a response to efforts by the West to exert hegemonial influence in the region. ISIS is inspiring violent criminal acts in major European cities and has led to higher levels of mistrust toward Muslim citizens and toward refugees. How can we effectively combat terrorism, hatred and marginalization?§§Aggressive power politics, renationalization, and transnational perpetrators of violence are destabilizing the existing international order within Europe as well. Military intervention and a new arms race are threatening to poison international relations. How to deal with authoritarian regimes, how to resolve conflicts through civil means?§§The Peace Report is published on behalf of the five German peace research institutes by Margret Johannsen, Bruno Schoch, Max M. Mutschler, Corinna Hauswedell and Jochen Hippler, with funding from the German Foundation for Peace Research.§§www.friedensgutachten.de