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Political and economic power is shifting, geopolitical rivalries sharpening, international institutions struggling. At the same time, the challenges are growing: war, military build-up and escalation risks, climate crisis and energy security, the development and regulation of AI and quantum technologies, increasingly fragmented world trade, and growing economic dependencies.
It remains unclear what form of order will emerge from this transition. Are we looking at a “G-2 world” dominated by the United States and China? Or growing influence of regional power centres and middle powers? Europe is especially exposed to these developments. Our security and prosperity depend on reliable rules, international cooperation and functioning institutions.
Many states outside Europe see opportunities in the current turmoil. Countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia, Canada, South Africa and Turkey hope to assert their own interests, without subscribing to any of the geopolitical blocks. Flexible, issue-driven partnerships can create space for new collaborations.
But can that kind of cooperation offer anything more than ad hoc alliances of convenience?How can smaller and medium-sized states collaborate effectively on climate protection, world trade, new technologies, arms control and escalation management?What is Europe's role in all of this? And where are the limits to pragmatic cooperation, if democracy, human rights and the rule-based order are to be upheld?
At the 2026 Tiergarten Conference leading international social democrats and other experts will discuss how progressive politics can strengthen international cooperation, and consider which partnerships could play a role.
Please note that participation is by personal invitation only.
The Conference will conclude with the Tiergarten Talk “Who is holding the world together? Cooperation instead of geopolitical dominance” to open the discussion up to the public.
Reem Alabali Radovan
Lars Klingbeil
Olaf Scholz
Sabine Fandrych, Secretary General of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Interview with former German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Co-Chair of the South-North Commission on Development
Host: Matthias Jobelius, Director of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's New York Office
Keynote: Reem Alabali Radovan, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica, Co-Chair South-North Commission on Development
Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister of Senegal (tbc)
Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies
Bambang Brodjonegoro, former Minister of Finance of Indonesia, CEO of the Asia Development Bank Institute (ADBI) (online)
Keynote: Nils Schmid, Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Minster of Defence
Vera Alexander, Ambassador of Canada to the Federal Republic of Germany (tbc)
Moeed Yusuf, Vice President Beaconhouse National University, Member of the network North South Futures Forum of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, Professor at the Center for Global Affairs, New York University
Host: Almut Wieland-Karimi, former Executive Director of the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), Berlin
Keynote: Siemtje Möller, Member of the German Bundestag and Deputy Chair of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag
Emily Roper, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative for the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations Office in Geneva
Stewart Patrick, Senior Fellow und Direktor des Global Order and Institutions Program beim Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA, Mitglied im Netzwerk North South Futures Forum der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Dino Patti Djalal, Founder and Chairman of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia and former Indonesian Ambassador to the USA
Host: Franziska Schmidtke, Policy Adviser for European Sovereignty and Rules-Based International Order, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Berlin
Armand Zorn, Member of the German Bundestag und Deputy Chair of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag, Member of the North South Futures Forum of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Ebrahim Patel, former Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Vice President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Host: Matthias Pesch, Policy Adviser for Trade, Development and Human Rights, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Geneva
Isabella Wilkinson, Research Fellow in the Digital Society Programme at Chatham House
Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, India
Jakob Hensing, Head of Political Economy, Global Public Policy Institutes (GPPI)
Host: Jonathan Menge, Policy Adviser for Digitalisation and Modernisation of the State, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Berlin
Jennifer Morgan, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP), former State Secretary and Special Envoy for the German Federal Foreign Office
Adriana Abdenur, co-Founder and co-President of Plataforma CIPÓ, Rio de Janeiro
Bengisu Özenç, Director of SEFIA (Sustainable Economics and Finance Association)
Host: Jakob Blankenburg, Member of the German Bundestag
Halime Kaakour, Member of the Lebanese Parliament
Amr Hamzawy, Director of the Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for Peace
Host: Sidonie Wetzig, Policy Officer for European Foreign, Security and Defence Policy, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's EU Office Brussels
In the context of geopolitical rivalries and national power politics, the pursuit of cooperation on equal footing can seem out of step with the times. How can progressive policies provide answers for the future of international cooperation? Join the...
The event is mostly taking place at ground level and is wheelchair accessible. Barrier-free access is available to the event rooms. If you have any special requirements, such as sign language interpretation or support for blind or visually impaired people, please let us know.
Peer Teschendorf
Irène Sabarly
The Tiergarten Conference is the annual international foreign and security policy conference of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Since 2012, international experts and political decision-makers have come together every year in expert discussions and public events to analyse strategic issues and develop progressive options for action. With its public events, the Tiergarten Conference makes the results of these discussions accessible to a broad public and thus contributes to a differentiated debate on foreign and security policy in Germany. The Tiergarten - a place of international relations and the seat of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's international work.
How can the EU respond to growing geopolitical pressures while maintaining its long-standing role in promoting sustainable peace and stability? Join us on 29 September for this FES-EKD cooperation!
Moeed Yusuf and Ejaz Haider examine Europe’s role in an alternative future.
NATO is stronger than it has been for a long time! But is it also united? Mapping national debates on NATO in 14 member states and selected non-member states.
