International Munich Peace Conference 2026:
“Against the tide of violence” – Civil society voices for peace and dialog
Munich, February 2026 – The motto of the 2026 International Munich Peace Conference is “Against the tide of violence”. In a time of increasing wars, militarization and escalation of power politics, the conference focuses on the courage to oppose the state’s logic of violence, armament and war policy. The aim is to strengthen civil society perspectives and open up spaces for dialog, criticism and solidarity-based action.
While peace policy issues are increasingly taking a back seat in international politics and at the Munich Security Conference taking place at the same time, the Munich Peace Conference deliberately sets a counterpoint: it brings together activists, scientists, artists and journalists to discuss non-violent alternatives, responsibility and international solidarity.
Thematic priorities 2026
Friday evening: Conscientious objection
The opening evening will focus on the personal experiences of conscientious objectors from various countries. Sofia Orr, Timofey Vaskin, Yan Kormilitsyn, Franz Nadler and Simon David Dressler will talk about their resistance as conscientious objectors to military logic and state violence. In addition, Katharina Rottmayr-Czerny presents the Peace Tax Network.
Saturday evening: Sanctions and boycotts
A prominent panel discussion will shed light on sanctions and boycotts as political and civil society instruments between power politics, moral responsibility and international law. Deborah Feldman, Shir Hever, Khaled El Mahmoud and Isabel Feichtner will take part in the panel discussion. The moderator will be Kristin Helberg, initiator of “Time to talk”.
Accompanying program
Workshops, exhibitions, musical contributions and a book reading by publicist Fabian Scheidler open up additional approaches to questions of non-violence, responsibility and social change.
Further information on the program, contributors and venues can be found at:
👉 https://friedenskonferenz.info/
Brief information for the editorial team
International Munich Peace Conference 2026
Munich, Salesianum, St.Wolfgangs-Platz 11
February 13 – 15, 2026
Thematic focus: Peace, nonviolence, civil society, conscientious objection, sanctions & boycotts
