Europe as a Challenge
Freedom, Sovereignty and Self-Assertion
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Political scientists Herfried Münkler and Petr Fiala agree that Europe needs greater strategic autonomy. The aim is to assert a space of history, culture and civilisation in the face of pressure from empires, and to preserve the achievements of democracy, freedom and human rights. Münkler argues that, in a dis-order prone to violence, Europe can no longer afford to present itself as a wild flowerbed. Fiala, who served as Czech Prime Minister from 2021 to 2025, shares this assessment and appeals to his compatriots: we must and can help shape European policy; national isolationism leads to a dead end. However, he is sceptical of attempts to gain the capacity to act through a tighter institutional straitjacket. He warns against equating the USA with Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China.
(Osteuropa 5-6/2026, pp. 5–18)