Et is two years ago that the organizers of the Munich Security Conference managed to coin “Westlessness”, a term that became a symbol for the inner turmoil in the transatlantic community; not only, but especially in view of the tenure of the American President Donald Trump, who in the meantime had even questioned the USA’s loyalty to the NATO alliance. This year, Wolfgang Ischinger, who will hand over the management of the conference to the diplomat Christoph Heusgen, tries to use a term to say goodbye: “Hopelessness” is the latest illness that the Munich Security Conference is suffering, especially among liberals democracies currently attested.
The organizers of the event, which will be held in hybrid form next weekend in Munich in view of the corona pandemic, base their findings on a representative survey in the countries of the G-7 and the so-called BRICS countries, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The survey was conducted in November last year and presented on Monday in Berlin by Wolfgang Ischinger and his co-author Tobias Bunde.
According to their findings, a feeling of “collective helplessness” is spreading in many countries in the face of mutually reinforcing crises. First there is the corona pandemic, which has had the world under control for two years now and seems endless to many people. Added to this are the ever-increasing effects of global warming, and in the case of the West also the feeling of powerlessness in the world’s trouble spots, be it in view of the failed mission in Afghanistan, the failed mission in Mali or an impending war over Ukraine, a scenario which, however, was not as clear at the time of the survey in November 2021 as it is now.
In addition, there is the feeling of being at the mercy of forces that cannot be controlled by politics, be it due to dependencies in the course of globalization or increasing disinformation in social networks. It is striking that respondents in autocratic countries appear to feel less hopeless in the face of global events than in democratic countries. In China it was just 37 percent. In Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, around half of respondents each agreed with the statement. Feelings of hopelessness are greatest in India (69 percent), Brazil (64 percent), South Africa (63 percent) and Italy (61 percent).
The authors of the security conference have noticed a tendency, especially in liberal democracies, to feel overwhelmed by the many crises. In their summary of the Munich Security Index 2022, the authors warn that this perception is “highly dangerous” and could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Decision-makers must therefore ensure optimism.
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