On June 16, Prof. Dr. Tim Büthe presented his research project "Interdependence, War & Peace, and the Primacy of Domestic Politics: What We Can Learn from 1914 for Understanding the 2022/23 War in Ukraine and the Prospects for Peace and Security in Europe?"  This project examines why the high degree of economic interdependence at the beginning of the 20th century in the so-called July crisis of 1914 was not able to prevent the war and tries to draw lessons from the beginning of World War I for our understanding of the military escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the spring of 2022 and for the contribution that international economic relations might make to peace and security in Europe after the end of the war in Ukraine. In view of the analysis of the escalation of the conflict in 1914, Büthe warns against expecting that restoring economic contacts between Germany/Europe and Russia could make a promising contribution to peace without significant internal political changes in Russia. He notes that Germany and the NATO allies should by no means try to bring about political changes in Russia. However, the historical analysis also shows that intensive economic ties must be accompanied by democratic domestic political institutions in order to make a reliable contribution to peace and security. Should Russia take the path of democratization of its own accord, a return to intensive economic integration would hold much promise.