Source: Getty

Judy Asks: What Is the Most Pressing World Issue?

Diplomats, parliamentarians, and journalists at the 2018 Munich Security Conference highlight today’s most consequential global threats.

Published on February 18, 2018

Carnegie Europe was on the ground at the 2018 Munich Security Conference, offering readers exclusive access to the debates as they unfold and providing insights on today’s most consequential threats to international peace.

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Jean AsselbornMinister for Foreign and European Affairs, Luxembourg

The wars in the war in Syria. They could have huge impacts for the whole of the Middle East.

Nikola DimitrovMinister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Macedonia

The tendency to look inward at a time when we need more global engagement.

Lyse DoucetChief international correspondent at the BBC

The lack of trust between the major powers and the major institutions that govern the world.

Mikheil JanelidzeMinister of Foreign Affairs, Georgia

Rising insecurity due to the concentration on internal politics.

John KerryVisiting distinguished statesman at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and former U.S. Secretary of State

Leadership and the absence of strong governance.

Ivan KrastevChairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies

That less and less world leaders understand what is going on. There is a sense of mass disorientation.

Hans-Dieter LucasGerman ambassador to NATO

Complexity, unpredictability, and volatility. They are a breeding ground for major crises.

Jüri LuikMinister of Defense, Estonia

The enormous risks in cyberspace.

Michael McFaulDirector of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University

The possibility of war in North Korea.

David MilibandPresident and CEO of the International Rescue Committee

The loss of confidence that the world’s problems are soluble.

Cem ÖzdemirMember of German Bundestag

That someone who stands for the opposite of Western values is sitting in the White House, the house of Western democracy.

Aleksey PushkovChairman of the Commission on Information and Media of the Federation Council, Parliament of the Russian Federation

The crisis of international law and the end of the rules-based system by a number of actors.

Kenneth RothExecutive director of Human Rights Watch

The failure of the political middle to vigorously defend democratic values in the face of the populist backlash.

Marc RuttePrime Minister of the Netherlands

Climate change.

Javier SolanaFormer secretary general of NATO and former EU foreign policy chief

The unpredictability of the United States, and the discrepancy between fantastic economic growth and the state of politics.

Ellen O. TauscherMember of the Board of Directors, Nuclear Threat Initiative

That politics has become so polarizing it is very difficult to get consensus on major issues.

Ambika VishwanathGeopolitical and strategic consultant, Mumbai

Not putting water on the geosecurity agenda.

Photo: MSC / Kuhlmann

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.