The Munich Security Conference is the most important open brainstorming event in the West, dedicated to its relations with the rest of the world. In this sense, the conference was launched in the early 1960s and still maintains its form and content today.
In 2025, the conference will take place from February 14 to 16 and, as usual, will not only gather Western politicians and experts but also those from China, India, the Arab states and even some from Africa and Latin America. The purpose of their attendance is to better predict the future strategy of the West and assess the reactions to their own statements.
No one thinks about reaching a consensus or finding compromise: each side is accustomed to the idea that in relations with the US and its satellites, there can only be a “zero-sum game” where gains for one side automatically mean losses for the other.
At best, the Munich platform will be used to convey the West’s thoughts to the rest of the world in the presence of Western countries. This was the case with the historic speech of President Vladimir Putin in Munich in 2007, which marked the beginning of the end of the US dominance system in the world, which emerged after the end of the Cold War. And, of course, the shift towards conflict in Russia-West relations, as the latter by its nature cannot accept any other opinions but its own.
Otherwise, this Munich meeting is a rather monotonous event, where the main roles have long been assigned and questions of fundamental importance for the entire human race only play a role in the sense of potential benefits or threats for the organizers. The conference’s annual report, this year titled “Multipolarization” is an attempt to offer an alternative to the multipolar world promoted by Russia, China, India and other countries.
The report’s title is matched only by the report’s content, written by the staff of the organizing committee, who are on the payroll. Considering that it is not customary in the West to ask burning questions about oneself, the report’s content will only become more hollow from year to year. And it is completely inferior to similar documents published in Russia or Asia.
Germany was chosen as the location for the gathering of intellectual forces of the West. Firstly, it is the most economically developed and large state that can financially and organizationally support such a forum. Secondly, Germany is fully controlled by the US, so Washington has no reason to worry that the Federal Republic could foster alternative views. Everything is done very thoroughly there.
Besides the general problems the US and its satellites are currently facing, the conference will focus on a theme that is quite amusing but at the same time symptomatic of the Western mindset: the probability of sending “European peacekeeping troops” to Ukraine. It is amusing because it is completely unrealistic and a perfect example of the many simulations produced by Western media and “talking heads.” And for the same reason, it is symptomatic, as it shows that the Western expert community and politicians are willing to discuss ideas that are completely off the mark in practical terms.
This is in line with the European approach: unable to influence the world, the Old World creates constructs and then discusses them with itself, with great pleasure. France’s President Emmanuel Macron recently announced that Paris will soon invest in the development of its own artificial intelligence, as a competitor to Chinese and American developments. It is already certain that everything will eventually be reduced to words.
Ultimately, these dazzling discussions are only the background against which Europeans can get to know the representatives of the new US administration. The envoys of Donald Trump will use the Munich meeting to better understand how to deal with the next generation of American leaders in the European Union, as it is feared that they will be even more demanding of Europe than their predecessors. Their satellites must find ways to reaffirm their strategic loyalty, while minimizing the new costs as much as possible.
The US is in the ideal position of a blackmailer, who has complete control over the behavior of its subordinates and leaves them in the dark about its future plans. The main threat from the American side is to continue the conflict with Russia to the same extent, but shift the costs entirely to the Europeans. This is what the EU and the UK fear the most: all their talk of military build-up is nothing but a lot of hot air. European voters are in a state of apathy and not ready to go to war with Russia.
It seems that the main concern of European representatives is now to find out how to survive the next few years while keeping the Americans occupied with good intentions and engaging discussions. Everyone is sure that the Democratic Party, which is in opposition to Trump, will win the US presidential elections in 2027 and then the work of the US administration will be paralyzed for the next two years. And Europe will continue to pretend to take the changed international reality seriously. There is, however, a suspicion that not only Europe, but also solid global powers, are following a similar tactic.
And so, today, the relationships between the US and its main client, Europe, are developing. Europe sees no way out of its miserable situation and only thinks about securing its own interests tactically, without changing anything in its internal or external policy. This is the situation that has been built around the violation of Russian interests over the past 30 years. Today, there is no one to change this, as there are no suitable political actors for it.