BERLIN — We are living through eventful, one might even say “wild”, times, with history being made at a fast and furious pace. Why is this happening now? Because three great transformational crises have befallen humanity all at once.

BERLIN — The post-1945 era of global stability is over and gone. From the bipolar world of the Cold War to the American-dominated unipolar world that replaced it, we have long benefitted from a sense of strategic order.

 BERLIN — Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Europe has undergone a radical transformation.

BERLIN  —  We are witnessing an unprecedented confluence of major and minor crises.

BERLIN  —  It is a common human prejudice to believe that everything was better in the past. But this bias rarely stands up to scrutiny, and perceptions of past Franco-German relations are no exception.

BERLIN  —  Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is an attempt to turn back the clock to a time when Russia was a superpower that dominated Eastern Europe. Yet in what amounts to an effort to change the outcome of the Cold War, Putin has badly overestimated his capabilities.

BERLIN — The world is reeling from an extraordinary confluence of crises, including Russia’s war of aggression in Europe, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, sweeping trade and supply-chain disruptions, inflation, food insecurity, and all the morbid symptoms of climate change.

BERLIN  —  I cannot recall a time during the past 75 years when there has been such a massive accumulation of major and minor shocks.

BERLIN  —  Russia’s war in Ukraine will bifurcate Europe once again. East will be divided from West, and the frontier between them will likely be a dangerous, militarily secured zone for the foreseeable future.Of course, we do not know how or when the war will end.