Merz: The World Order Is Breaking Down and Europe Is Not Ready

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used his opening address at the Munich Security Conference to deliver one of the bleakest assessments yet of the global environment, declaring that the international order that shaped the postwar era has effectively collapsed. According to Merz, the rules-based system, imperfect even at its strongest, is no longer functioning, forcing countries like Germany to rethink their assumptions about security, alliances and self-defense. He argued that the period following the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the United States stood as the dominant global power, has clearly ended....