On 19 September 2025, the Bad Homburg Conference will bring leading scholars, practitioners and citizens together at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften – Institute for Advanced Studies in Bad Homburg – to discuss the fragile relationship between international law and power. The event is organized by the Forschungskolleg, the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) and the City of Bad Homburg.
Under the title “The Constitution of the World: Law and Power in International Politics” (“Die Verfassung der Welt: Recht und Macht in der internationalen Politik”), the conference addresses the weakening of the international legal order at a time when wars and conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and East Asia continue to escalate.
“Since 1945, the effectiveness of the United Nations has prevented a Third World War and helped to limit the spread of nuclear weapons,” said Prof. Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, Director of the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften. “But today international law is constantly being violated – often by states with veto power in the UN Security Council, which blocks the UN from acting effectively.”
Three lectures will provide key impulses:
- Prof. Michael Zürn (Berlin) on changes in world order since the late 20th century.
- Prof. Antje Wiener (Hamburg) on the resilience of the UN Charter.
- Prof. Thilo Marauhn (Giessen) on the functions and limits of international law.
The concluding panel features Prof. Janina Dill (Oxford), PD Dr. Isabelle Ley (Jena) and Prof. Georg Nolte (International Court of Justice, Berlin), moderated by conflict researcher Prof. Nicole Deitelhoff (Goethe University/PRIF).
Since 2017, the Bad Homburg Conferences have served as a public forum on urgent social issues. Bad Homburg’s mayor Alexander W. Hetjes emphasized that involving citizens in these discussions is key to strengthening democratic dialogue.
Participation in the German-language conference is free, but registration is required by 17 September via anmeldung@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de. Full program details are available online:
Conference Program (PDF)
