Zeitenwende for the G7

Published on the occasion of the G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau, a special edition of the Munich Security Index, built by the MSC in cooperation with Kekst CNC, reveals that the war in Ukraine has radically altered risk perceptions in G7 countries. It has not only triggered a profound reassessment of the threat posed by Russia and, to a certain degree, China, but has also provoked a renewed focus on traditional security risks associated with defense and deterrence.

The most effective response to these threats, our new Munich Security Brief argues, has come, and will need to come, from formats involving democratic states, with the G7 front and center. In fact, Russia’s full-blown aggression against Ukraine has galvanized the world’s democracies into delivering a decisive response – with strong support from public opinion in the G7 countries. Yet, the determination and unity that like-minded democracies have mustered in the face of Russia's war do not yet extend to the many other global challenges on the G7 agenda. This is despite the fact that non-traditional threats do not become less imminent in the face of wars of aggression. Climate change, rising inequality, and other global threats remain key concerns in most G7 countries.

Against that backdrop, the G7 and like-minded partners have to adapt to a more challenging security environment – one that simultaneously demands a strengthening of values-based cooperation in order to respond to the return of revisionist authoritarian great powers and more ambitious efforts to reach out to countries that do not necessarily share liberal-democratic values but whose buy-in is required to effectively tackle urgent global threats. At their summit at Schloss Elmau, G7 countries need to outline how they seek to reconcile the demands of a "Zeitenwende" with the requirements of persistent global threats and the lasting need for broad-based cooperation.

The new Munich Security Brief was supported by funds from the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. The Munich Security Conference gratefully acknowledges the generous support.

With its Munich Security Briefs, the MSC aims at contributing to ongoing debates on a particular issue within the broad field of international security. A much more concise format than the Munich Security Report, the briefs are meant to provide an overview of an issue or a read-out of a particular MSC event as well as a succinct analysis of its policy implications and strategic consequences. They generally express the opinion of their author(s) rather than any position of the Munich Security Conference.