When Russian ruler Vladimir Putin delivered his infamous speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007 in which he denounced a “unipolar world” as a threat, many regarded his words as a provocation rather than a genuine attempt to reshape the world order.
Yet Munich 2007 has gone down in history as the beginning of a new era. Russian tanks rolled into Georgia just a year later, and into Ukraine’s Crimea seven years after that. And 2022 opened the door to a full-scale war against Ukraine – one that has already reshaped the security architecture, at least on the European continent.
In 2025, another alarming speech resounded from the same stage. This time it was US Vice President JD Vance, who accused European governments of suppressing free speech, referring to censorship, persecution of believers, and attempts to silence dissent.
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This was a clear sign of a new chapter in EU-US relations. The leadership of the country that until recently was Europe’s biggest partner is increasingly inclined towards isolationism. It may rethink its support for Ukraine in the coming years, as well as its involvement in collective security.
We met with Benedikt Franke, CEO of the Munich Security Conference, the world’s most important forum for discussing security and geopolitics, on the sidelines of this year’s NATO summit in The Hague.
Franke is not just a manager. He has served as a strategic adviser to the German government and previously worked at the UN, where he was personal assistant to Kofi Annan.
His understanding of global security is shaped not by newspaper headlines, but by regular engagement with world leaders and their advisers.
We talked to Franke about the current phase of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the West’s Ukraine fatigue, the collapse of trust in international institutions – and about hope. Why despite the current geopolitical chaos, Franke sees Ukraine’s victory in this gruelling war as a realistic goal – and what needs to be done to achieve it.
Photo: MSC/Kuhlmann
“I don’t believe we are close to a new world war”
You are responsible for the most influential conference on security. How do you feel right now with all the threats? Now we have Ukraine, now we have the Middle East – Israel and Iran. How would you describe the current situation in global security as CEO of the Munich Security Conference?
You know, very directly: not good. The situation is…
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