It’s time for my traditional train Twitter thread after @MunSecConf. As our Chairman @ischinger said, we’re all tired now. But the most important thing is that we had a weekend of vivid debates! #MSC2020
I’m glad that the title of our #MSCreport – #Westlessness – triggered some of them. We think of the MSR as a conversation starter for the conference, and it worked well this year – in particular because some thought it accurately described the zeitgeist, and others disagreed.
Are you still wondering – like my my two-year old (“Papa, was soll das heißen?"| "Dad, what does this even mean?”) – what this term is meant to convey? You can re-watch my presentation of the #MSCreport in Berlin. #Westlessness securityconference.org/en/medialibrar…
Or you read my introductory essay in the #MSCreport. securityconference.org/en/publication…
In short, as the world is becoming less Western and the West itself is becoming less Western, too, #Westlessness refers to an increasingly widespread feeling of uneasiness and restlessness in the face of increasing uncertainty about the enduring purpose of the West.
As we had imagined, some participants disagreed with our focus on “the West.” For some, it was another example of transatlantic navel-gazing. The Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar argued that what we called #Westlessness was rather a world without #Westfullness. #dealwithit 
Some believe the West is a thing of the past. As @fromTGA showed, there has been less and less reference to the “Western alliance” in newspapers.
But we believed it was a necessary debate to be had at @MunSecConf, often called a Western family meeting.
But we believed it was a necessary debate to be had at @MunSecConf, often called a Western family meeting.
Others argued that we were not talking about the West but rather about all those who share liberal-democratic values wherever they are. Yes, exactly!
But I would still argue that the liberal project needs the countries of the “old West.” The problem is that there is a new “anti-West” within the Western world that promotes a different understanding of the West. hertie-school.org/en/debate/deta…
Many participants agreed with the diagnosis that the liberal West is challenged by an illiberal, nationalist “anti-West” within the West that represents a fundamental challenge to our open societies.
Unfortunately, this is true for my own country Germany as well. As Federal President #Steinmeier argued in his speech: “Today the evil spirits of the past – ethnocentric thinking, racism, antisemitism – are emerging in our country in a new guise. [...]"
"So we – in #Germany, but by no means only in Germany – are called upon once again. We are called upon to defend our elementary understanding of the dignity of the individual and to fight for our open societies.” bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Red…
Others, such as @NATO SecGen @jensstoltenberg, presented a more positive and optimist outlook. #MSC2020
Speaking after Stoltenberg at #MSC2020, @SecPompeo Pompeo made clear he did not like the term #Westlessness at all: “The West,” he said, “is winning. We are collectively winning.” state.gov/the-west-is-wi…
While #Pompeo wanted to “give you an idea of what’s real,” I heard people use adjectives such as “tone-deaf”, “arrogant”, “delusional” to describe the speech. @SangerNYT & @StevenErlanger succinctly summarized how the speech was received at #MSC2020. nytimes.com/2020/02/15/wor…
Indeed, Pompeo's message didn’t go down too well. I also asked the #MSC2020 twitter community – and only about a fifth of those who responded agreed with Secretary Pompeo.
French President @emmanuelmacron apparently was tired of all the winning. In his conversation with @ischinger, he underlined that “there is a certain weakness in the West,” echoing some of his points raised in the Economist interview.
While Macron's comments on Russia did not convince the audience (a topic for another thread), the things he said he believed – “très profondément” – about #Europe were much appreciated at #MSC2020. dw.com/en/munich-secu…
Fortunately, all the Germans giving speeches – Steinmeier, @HeikoMaas & @akk – at #MSC2020 agreed that Berlin had to take up Macron’s proposal for a strategic dialogue (including on nuclear deterrence).
And both Armin Laschet and Annalena Baerbock called for stronger German engagement in and for Europe. It's about time. As @EmmanuelMacron said when asked about a lack of German initiatives, he was not frustrated but rather impatient. Rightly so, I believe.
As DefMin @akk rightly stressed, we need to move from a “Munich consensus of words” to a “Munich consensus of deeds”(on the Munich consensus, referring to #MSC2014, see this @SurvivalEditors article by Bastian Giegerich (@IISS_org) and @m_terhalle: tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…).
That's it for now. And I promise there will be less #Westlessness in my Twitter feed from now on. I'm very grateful to all those constructively engaging, whether agreeing or disagreeing, with the #MSCreport and the debates at #MSC2020!
Make sure to follow my wonderful colleagues behind the #MSCreport! (And, Laura, you should get a Twitter account, too.)
