The foundations of the post-1945 international order, long anchored by U.S. leadership, are shifting. Amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry, democratic backsliding, and strategic fatigue in Washington, the question arises: what if the United States no longer plays its pivotal role in international security? Simultaneously, the Global South is asserting new political and economic agency, complicating the old binaries of West vs. Rest. For Europe, this landscape is both a challenge and an inflection point.

The evolving U.S. strategic posture and the intensification of the war in Ukraine are reshaping the security landscape in Europe. This context calls for a clear assessment of the balance of power between Europe and Russia.

Turkey has entered a new phase of turbulence. The arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on March 19, 2025, triggered a broad protest movement, which the main opposition party, the CHP, is attempting to organize. In parallel, the government continues its peace process with the PKK — a development that could profoundly reshape the country’s political landscape.

In an international context marked by the resurgence of power rivalries, cooperation between Iran, China, Russia and North Korea is attracting increasing attention.

As President Trump's approval rating stagnates in the polls and with 18 months remaining before the November 2026 midterm elections, why is the Democratic Party unable to offer a credible and compelling alternative to middle-class American voters? On what issues and around which figures could the radical left and the moderate left find common ground by then?

2025 is already characterized by the accelerated erosion of the West and global fragmentation on energy and climate policies, security, trade and governance. Ten years after the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the United States is once more preparing to exit the global climate governance, while coal has again passed another consumption record in 2024. Yet annual clean sector investments are finally nearing the 2 trillion $ mark, notably driven by energy security and industrial policies.
 

The new German government, a "grand coalition" likely led by Friedrich Merz, will have to navigate a complex international environment, marked notably by a disruption of transatlantic relations. The Trump administration's attacks on traditional U.S. allies, the rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, as well as the uncertainties surrounding the future of NATO, are shaking the paradigms of German foreign policy.

From Maputo to Nairobi and from Lagos to Dakar: recently, African cities have been the theatre of mobilizations by groups of young protesters.

A new European security architecture has to be built. The question is: will this happen with or without Europe? The US President, Donald Trump, who returned to the White House a little more than two months ago, and the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, have initiated talks to put an end to the war in Ukraine, with the possibility of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia being raised.

Discussion with Dr. Johann Wadephul, member of the Bundestag and Vice-Chairman of the CDU/CSU Group in the Bundestag for Foreign Affairs, Defense, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), Council of Europe.