News from Berlin

The Need for Diplomacy: “Their Last Battle – Declining Empires as a Security Risk”

June 17th, 2014
The Need for Diplomacy-Their Last Battle – Declining Empires as a Security Risk.jpg

News from Berlin - Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in collaboration with the President of the German Historical Museum Foundation, Alexander Koch, held an evening of discussion on Friday 13th June to commemorate the outbreak of World War One..

The event focused on the situation in Europe during 1914, specifically, “Their Last Battle – Declining Empires as a Security Risk”. The discussion is part of the German Foreign Office’s series on the events of the Great War, inquiring into why exactly diplomacy failed on the eve of the conflict.

Subsequently academics, policymakers and diplomats will explore the importance of foreign policy and how exactly we can avoid making the same catastrophic mistakes. Steinmeier called for a more sensitive diplomacy, calling on statesmen to steer clear myopic goals and having a sober view ‘not only of one’s interests, but also those of their neighbours and partners’. This, he argued, was conducive to better cultural relations between states to prevent further terrible conflicts.

Following an introduction by Foreign Minister Steinmeier, Russian historian Igor Narskij and Polish editor Adam Krzemiński outlined the Russian and Polish views of early 20th century European history. The subsequent panel discussion was chaired by Almut Möller, Head of Program at the Alfred von Oppenheim Centre for European Policy Studies.

Complementing these talks in Berlin, there will be a panel discussion in Paris with Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius aimed at German and French audiences.  

News from Berlin - Berlin Global