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CSA SPEAKER BULLETIN INSIGHT
Carl Bildt
SHOWDOWN
IN MUNICH
Carl Bildt was Sweden’s foreign It was at the 2007 Munich Security delivered by US Vice President Mike
minister from 2006 to October Conference that Russian President Pence and German Chancellor
2014, and was Prime Minister Vladimir Putin first signaled a cooling Angela Merkel could not have been
from 1991 to 1994, when of Russian-Western relations. Soon more different, in terms of both
he negotiated Sweden’s EU thereafter, Russia invaded Georgia; style and substance. At a gathering
accession. He also undertook and in the years since, it has annexed originally designed to facilitate
far-reaching liberalisation and Crimea, launched incursions into German-American cooperation,
structural reforms, improving Eastern Ukraine, and carried out Germany and America’s foreign-
Sweden’s competitiveness and cyber-attacks against Western policy positions have rarely been so
modernising its infrastructure. democracies. Today, Russian-Western far apart.
A renowned international relations are in a downward spiral.
diplomat, Carl is a visionary of For his part, Pence delivered a
Europe and an expert on world The annual Munich Security hardline “America first” message and
affairs. He is the Chair of the Conference is to geopolitics what the celebrated the Trump administration’s
Global Commission on Internet World Economic Forum’s meetings in adamant refusal to accept
Governance. He is also a member Davos are to business. The gathering longstanding rules and international
of the World Economic Forum’s has evolved from its Cold War-era agreements. Europeans, he declared,
Global Agenda Council on Europe focus primarily on German-American have no choice but to follow America’s
and co-chair of the European military cooperation to viewing lead, even – indeed, especially – if
Council on Foreign Relations. global issues through a much wider it means renouncing the 2015 Iran
lens. Participants now discuss topics nuclear agreement that European
He writes here about the recent ranging from foreign policy and diplomats did so much to bring about.
Munich Security Conference and international security to climate As with his previous appearance at
how this year’s event may well be change. the conference, Pence refused to take
remembered as a turning point any questions after his speech. Many
for global geopolitics. This year’s three-day conference, of his “applause lines” were met with
which had record-high attendance, stony silence. Read more.
Copyright Project Syndicate will most likely be remembered
for years to come. The speeches
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