The 2020 Munich Security Conference showed how the ties that bind global players together are being weaponised in a new great power competition. It is rare that an international conference perfectly captures the mood of the moment, but that is what this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) achieved with its concept of “Westlessness”. The Chinese foreign minister exuded confidence in spearheading the generational shift from a unipolar world to a bipolar one. But, though the topics were bracing, the conference tried hard to stop Westlessness from morphing into hopelessness. This commentary, like all publications of the European Council on Foreign Relations, represents only the views of its authors.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 19, 2020 14:03 UTC