LITERARISCHER STREIFZUG NR. 108: HERFRIED MÜNKLER

At the latest since the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we know that the previously valid order has come to its end. The world is in turmoil. But how will it reorder itself, and what will it look like in the 21st century? What upheavals, ruptures and upheavals are we facing?

Enforcing a world order based on values and norms is beyond the capabilities of the West. The United States, once the "world's policeman," is in retreat despite its international commitment; the UN, which was also supposed to play this role, is blocking itself. And the Europeans are simply incapable of shepherding a world order. A precarious, risky situation.

In this thought-provoking geopolitical analysis, Herfried Münkler shows where the lines of conflict will run in the future. There is much to suggest that a new system of regional zones of influence is emerging, dominated by five major powers. Where are the dangers of this new order, where are its opportunities? Would it be a balanced balance of powers - or chaos? And how should Europe and Germany behave in the expected global confrontations? An exciting, benchmark-setting look at the constellations of power in the 21st century.

Herfried Münkler, born in 1951, is professor emeritus of political science at Berlin's Humboldt University. Many of his books are considered standard works, such as "The Germans and Their Myths" (2009), which won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize, as well as "The Great War" (2013), "The New Germans" (2016), "The Thirty Years' War" (2017) or "Marx, Wagner, Nietzsche" (2021), all of which were on the "Spiegel" bestseller list for months. Herfried Münkler has received many awards, including the Aby Warburg Foundation Science Prize and the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Fellowship.

"Welt in Aufruhr" by Herfried Münkler will be published by Rowohlt Berlin Verlag on 17.10.2023, 512 pages.