ZIF to contribute with Side Event to the Munich Security Conference 2025

The Centre for International Peace Operations (ZIF) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are once again jointly organising a side event at the Munich Security Conference in 2025 on February 16. They are inviting selected experts to a discussion on the ‘Role of regional organisations in crisis management: opportunities and challenges in a geopolitically blocked world’. The aim is to shed light on the requirements, instruments and standards as well as the opportunities and risks of more regionalised international crisis management.

The role of the United Nations in international crisis management is increasingly constrained under current geopolitical conditions. Deploying UN peace missions is becoming more challenging, and even the renewal of existing mandates often proves problematic. At the same time, key documents such as the New Agenda for Peace (2023), the UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023) on the financing of African-led peace support operations, and the Pact for the Future (2024) highlight the growing importance of regional organizations in conflict management.

How realistic is it for regional organisations to close the gap?

Do regional organisations have the necessary human and financial resources? Are they recognised in their role by the international community and the affected regions? Will they act mainly in a military capacity or will they take on political leadership, mediation and peace-building in the long term? And how can internal divisions and external influence be managed? These questions, among others, are the focus of the ZIF-SIPRI side event, which brings together representatives of regional organisations, international institutions and regional powers. 

Participation in this side event is reserved for guests of MSC 2025.