IDOS contributes to the academic conference on “Strong Asymmetrical Dependencies: Perspectives from Asia, Past and Present” organised by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.
The conference was held on 6 May 2025 and aimed to address gaps in the study of slavery, bondage, coerced labor, and forced displacement across Asia. It explored the value of adopting “an Asian perspective” in understanding and confronting the histories and continuities of slavery and dependencies. Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge contributed to the conference’s concluding reflections. She emphasised the relevance of studying asymmetrical dependencies in relation with international cooperation and development, guided by the question how development policy and cooperation policy as a wider field can contribute to reducing structurally embedded drivers of dependence and asymmetrical power relations.
Excitingly, the most recent decision by DFG to continue financing the excellence cluster Bonn Center for Dependence and Slavery Studies at the University of Bonn will allow for increased collaboration on these topics between the cluster and IDOS.
