In research and teaching, the Chair of International History and Historical Peace and Conflict Research focuses on international and transnational history in a broad sense from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day. Our expertise ranges from the history of human rights, humanitarianism and international humanitarian law to questions of war and peace in international relations more generally. For the 20th century, our main research concentrates on (but is not limited to) the history of the world wars, the history of decolonization and the history of the Cold War.

New Research Project

New CHL project in partnership with Nuffield College (University of Oxford) will explore how the 1990s shaped today's international order

The University of Cologne, in partnership with Nuffield College, is launching the Konrad Adenauer Synergy Research Project titled 'Rethinking Global Governance and Human Security: Lessons from the Pivotal Decade of the 1990s'.

Funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation with €4.4 million over five years, the project explores how the multifaceted history of the 1990s shaped today’s international order — and what lessons this decade holds for the future of multilateral cooperation.

More Information

Booktalk by Gregory S. Gordon

On December 9, 2025, Gregory S. Gordon will present his new book “Nuremberg's Citizen Prosecutor. Benjamin Ferencz and the Birth of International Justice”. The event is organized by the Institute for International Peace and Security Law and the Cologne Center for Advanced Studies in International History and Law.

When: December 9, 2025, 7:30 pm
Where: Tagungsraum Seminargebäude

Falling Walls Science Summit

On November 9, 2025, Prof. Klose participated Falling Walls Science Summit. He talked at the Panel “Evidence & Public Discourse: Academia's Role in Democracy”. 

Lecture Series “Signatures of World Society”

On 29 April, Fabian Klose will give a lecture on ‘Enforcing Abolition and the Emergence of Humanitarian Intervention in the 19th Century’ as part of the lecture series ‘Signatures of World Society’, which is organised by Bielefeld University. You can join via Zoom.

Konrad Adenauer Lectures in International History and Law

After the first Adenauer Lecture was a complete success, we are already looking forward to the next Adenauer Lecture in June. On June 4, Susan Carruthers (Warwick) will give her Adenauer Lecture on the topic ‘Redress: The Fabric of Justice in Occupied Postwar Germany’. We are looking forward to the lecture and an exciting discussion. 

When: June 4, 2025 | 7 P.M.
Where: Tagungsraum S04, Seminargebäude

Konrad Adenauer Lecture in International History and Law

We are pleased to announce that the first Konrad Adenauer Lecture in International History and Law will be held by the CHL on April 24. CHL Senior Fellow Andrew Thompson (Oxford) will give a lecture on international organizations and liberation movements in the context of decolonization processes.

When: April 24, 2025 | 6 P.M.
Where: Neuer Senatssaal, Hauptgebäude

"Wie schreibt man Internationale Geschichte?" - Now available as Open Acces!

The edited volume “Wie schreibt man Internationale Geschichte? Empirische Vermessungen zum 19. und 20. Jahrhundert”, co-edited by Prof. Fabian Klose and Dr. Arvid Schors, is now available as Open Access at Campus Verlag. 

“Völkerrecht und Geschichte”

Prof. Fabian Klose was a guest on L.I.S.A. and discussed the topic “International Law and History” with international law experts Prof. Angelika Nußberger and Prof. Claus Kreß. The recording is now available on L.I.S.A. 

‘End of Immunity’

On 12 March 2025, the former President of the International Criminal Court Chile Eboe-Osuji will present his new book ‘End of Immunity’ and discuss it with Professor Claus Kreß. The event is organised by the CHL and moderated by Isabel Schayani.

Wann: March 12, 2025 | 7 P.M.
Wo: Academy for European Human Rights Protection, Reading Room

Kommenden Montag begrüßen wir Elisabeth Piller aus Freiburg im Kolloquium für Internationale Geschichte, wo sie einen Vortrag zu dem Thema “(Un-)Grateful Europeans - The Transatlantic Legacy of U.S. Post-War Aid” halten wird. Gäste sind herzlich willkommen!

Wann? Montag 27.01.2024, 17:45 Uhr
Wo? Philosophikum, R. 3.006

Meet the Author!

On 25 November, Manuel Kaiser (Zurich) will visit the Colloquium for International History to talk about his book “Den Himmel zähmen. Wetter- und Klimabeeinflussung im 20. Jahrhundert”. We are looking forward to a great discussion!

When: Mo., 25.11.2024, 5:45 pm
Where: Philosophikum, R. 3.006

'Crafting a new global order? The United Nations and international politics in the 1990s'
Wednesday, 30 October 2024, Oxford Martin School

You can re-watch Prof. Klose's lecture online.

On September 16, the Cologne Center for Advanced Studies in International History and Law (CHL) was officially opened with a symposium. During the Welcome Reception, Rector Prof. Joybrato Mukherjee, the Alfred Landecker Foundation and the members of the Advisory Board paid tribute to the new interdisciplinary cooperation at the Center. The key question “Double Standards in International Law?” was then discussed in two panels. The closing keynote lecture was given by Samuel Moyn (Yale University) on “A Letter to Hans Kelsen on the Use of Force”. Further information on the CHL website.

The University of Cologne would like to regain its status as a university of excellence. In light of this, Rector Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee highlights the private funding of excellent research within the Colleg Konrad Adenauer and the Hans Kelsen Professorship at the CHL by the Alfred Landecker Foundation. More information.

The new Cologne Center for Advanced Studies in International History and Law (CHL) will benefit from the cooperation between the University of Cologne and the Alfred Landecker Foundation. The funding will strengthen the interdisciplinary cooperation between international law and international history, which is already being intensively pursued by Professor Angelika Nußberger, Professor Claus Kreß and Professor Fabian Klose, Managing Director of the CHL. For further information, see the new homepage.

Prof. Dr. Fabian Klose will be Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Martin Programme on Changing Global Orders in 2024. The Oxford Martin Programme on Changing Global Orders brings together international researchers to find answers to the changes in global orders in past and present from a historical and political science perspective. Further topics and sections can be found here.

For more than a year the Cologne/Bonn Academy in Exile supports academics from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia and enables them to conduct their research in a safe environment. More...

"A new field of research with an old pedigree": Prof. Fabian Klose and Dr. Arvid Schors discussed their new book "How to Write International History?" [„Wie schreibt man Internationale Geschichte?”] with the research forum of the Gerda Henkel Foundation, L.I.S.A.