Zeitenwende – Challenges and Paths to Renewed Order
The Lessons of History and Strategies for the Future
At the inaugural CHIOS-Körber Roundtable, held on 8 April 2025 at the Körber-Stiftung headquarters in Hamburg, thirty scholars, politicians, officials, and representatives from the armed forces, think tanks, and NGOs met to discuss and place Zeitenwende in a historical and global context.
Two broadly conceived panels provided a structure for our dialogues:
We were first taken on a 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦 𝘷𝘶𝘦 of the internal German and West European perspectives on Zeitenwende before this was placed in a broader global context. This first panel was more historically conceived, asking the essential question: “What is the name of the Beast?” That is, what kind of rupture are we in the midst of, how did we get here, and how is it perceived from different vantage points?
The second panel focused on reform, realignment, and resilience. This panel started from today’s situation and looked ahead. Offering first a sobering view from the Baltic states and Ukraine and a strategic take on the rapidly changing geopolitics of Northern Europe and the Arctic, the panel concluded by addressing the elephant in the room: What will the United States do next, and how may we prepare for it?
Five important perspectives which cut across the two panels and combine the historical lessons and the prospective paths forward were presented, which essentially also represent five inherent tensions that need to be resolved:
- 𝘡𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦 in a German, European and Global context.
- Europe's potential for resilience, considering Ukrainian practices of resilience.
- The problem of time and sequencing: Defence and security planning considering societal, political and economic pressures.
- Between reform, realignment and destruction: orders and ordering then and now.
- The Russian problem ... and the American problem: 𝘡𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦 and ordering.
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❓How do you perceive the global implications of this 𝘡𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦 on international relations and geopolitics?
❓What historical events or periods do you think offer the most valuable lessons for understanding the current Z𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦?
❓What should be the key priorities for policymakers and leaders in navigating the challenges of Zeitenwende?
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