A Cold War Reboot? Current Great Power Politics and Geostrategy

Are we living through a second cold war between liberal democracies and revisionist, authoritarian systems? Or is global pluralism now stronger than during the (first) Cold War? With an eye to the hot war in Ukraine, Marcel Berni reflects on the increase of political, ideological, and above all military tensions in the early 21st century. An arms build-up in countries near and far has been observed for quite some time, reinstating military escalation as an instrument for advancing political interests and disrupting long-standing geopolitical certainties – not only in Ukraine.

 The talk will be held in German.

Registration

Invitation PDF

Marcel Berni

Marcel Berni studied history, political science, and ecology at the University of Bern. In 2014, he took on his current role as researcher and instructor at the Military Academy at ETH Zurich. He received his doctorate from the University of Hamburg with a PhD thesis on communist prisoners during the Vietnam War. Published in the fall of 2020, his thesis, “Ausser Gefecht” (Sidelined), won the André Corvisier Prize for best dissertation on military history. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Marcel Berni has closely followed the developments and frequently consults with the media.