We live in an everchanging world. The 20th century saw wars that left ruins behind, empires that grew and fell, unprecedented civilization progress yet in a dramatically divided world. But in the end, reconciliation of East and West came true with the fall of the Iron Curtain, to some the victory of liberal democracy and the free-market economy even heralded the end of history. On the contrary, at the dawn of the new century, we have been observing shifting global dynamics, alternative centres of power emerging, “new generation” warfare in use. Today, the West seems fragile, transatlantic alliance fatigued, and challenges of new geopolitics are piling. The recent outbreak of coronavirus pandemic only exposed the urgency of change. Facing a possible socio-economic polycrisis, we have to look back and ask ourselves what can we learn from past experiences to build a safer future and geopolitical stability for the post-pandemic world.

The session will be chaired by Julianne Smith, Director of the Asia program and the Geopolitics program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.