The Munich Security Report 2026 warns the greatest challenge to the liberal international order is “coming from within” through the dramatic shift in the current US administration that no longer shares a commitment to liberal democratic norms, values, and its alliances.

The world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics. Sweeping destruction – rather than careful reforms and policy corrections – is the order of the day. The most prominent of those who promise to free their country from the existing order’s constraints and rebuild a stronger, more prosperous nation is the current US administration. As a result, more than 80 years after construction began, the US-led post-1945 international order is now under destruction.

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In an era of wrecking-ball politics, those who simply stand by are at constant risk of entombment. And given the amount of demolition already happening, it is no longer enough to only engage in reactive, small-scale efforts to reconstruct the old status quo. Those who oppose the politics of destruction have to fortify essential structures, draw up new, more sustainable designs, and become bold builders themselves. Too much is at stake. In fact, everything is at stake.

The Munich Security Conference 2026 runs later this week, from February 13 to 15, 2026.

Source:

Munich Security Report 2026: https://securityconference.org/en/publications/munich-security-report/2026/

Further Reading:

Patrick Wintour, The Guardian: Europe’s ‘painful’ realisation it must be bolder with US set out in security report https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/09/europe-us-munich-security-conference-report