Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V.
The Estoril Political Forum is a renowned annual academic event in Portugal and beyond, focusing on current issues in international order and foreign policy. It was founded in its original form in 1993 and is organized by the renowned Institute of Political Science at the Catholic University of Portugal (IEP-UCP). The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Spain and Portugal has been an integral part of the event's funding environment since 2011.
Promoting young talent and international expert exchange at the same time
What is special is that every year, several hundred students interested and active in foreign policy often participate in the three-day international forum for the first time and can gain experience in such an environment.
On the other hand, it is remarkable that every year, several dozen international foreign policy experts from academia, politics, business, and the media, mostly from the US, the UK, the EU, and Asia - but also from Africa and Latin America - come to Estoril to give lectures and engage in intensive discussions on current trends.
Foreign policy debates that inspire people
Each year, the forum focuses on a overarching current core topic that is affecting international relations worldwide. In recent years, these have included the Carnation Revolution in Portugal and its significance for today's transition states; political polarization in democratic political systems and the development of effective countermeasures; the analysis of authoritarian regimes and their influence on liberal constitutional states and the current international order; and the future of NATO against the backdrop of an international geopolitical power shift.
Well-founded analyses help to identify decisive future trends
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung supports the Estoril Political Forum because it helps to deepen and expand an international, value-based network of experts with Portuguese and European participation, which addresses current challenges to the international political order from various regional perspectives and, building on this, devises new and effective solutions. Identifying new future trends and having possible responses to them makes a decisive contribution to the European community of states and the West in enabling them to respond appropriately to new problems.
