12th Annual Foreign Policy Conference: Ten Years After 9/11

Background
The historic turning point of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 accelerated a transition
phase in foreign policy that has redrawn the global political map and left an enduring mark on world
affairs. The new world order, which had slowly taken shape after 1989, has since been marked by a
rapid transfer of economic and political power from the Western to the Eastern hemisphere. The subsequent loss of U.S. power has become just as evident as the rise of large emerging nations and the ever more assertive demands of new regional powers. Developments over the last few years and recent events support the historical experience that transformational changes of the world order by the rise of new powers often go along with power struggles. Particularly unclear is the future role of Europe in the new global arena. Without a European Union as a strong foreign policy actor or renewed transatlantic partnerships, European powers run the risk of becoming marginal actors in the global developments of the 21st century.

The discourse of fear after 9/11
At the end of the Cold War a clash of civilizations was proclaimed as the new cradle of global conflict. Similarly, as a result of September 11, a clash of religions has seemingly determined the foreign policy analyses over the last decade. At least this has been the case when the Islamic world and `the West` are portrayed as the two largest antagonists in global policy. In the wake of 9/11 a
culture of fear has played a much larger role in determining political responses in the U.S., Europe
and Germany than confidence in western strengths, values and the principles of a resilient democracy.

The 12th Annual Foreign Policy Conference hosted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in cooperation with the European Council on Foreign Relations, aims to stimulate debate on the major changes since 9/11 and the reasons for the distortions mentioned above. We will also explore the conflict between morality and “realpolitik” and how it has been malpracticed in selective foreign policies over the last decade. But the main objective of the conference is to identify potential solutions for foreign policy dilemmas and to discuss lessons learned in light of the paradigm shift in the wake of 9/11. The conference will do this by taking into account both new challenges and old alliances as well as opportunities for foreign policy in a dramatically changed world.