The rules-based international order was already under strain before 2026. But a convergence of forces has accelerated its unravelling in ways that would have seemed unthinkable a decade ago. Great power unilateralism is displacing multilateral coordination. Transactional bilateralism is replacing principled diplomacy. And the architecture of shared restraint built over decades, from arms control regimes to non-proliferation frameworks to trade and security treaties, is eroding faster than anything is being built to replace it. In 2026, every region is recalibrating. Alliances are being renegotiated. Middle powers are hedging. The authority of international institutions and the credibility of security guarantees are all in question simultaneously.
- What kind of order, if any, is emerging from the fracture and who gets to shape it?
- Can Europe act as a coherent geopolitical force?
- With Central and Eastern Europe increasingly at the heart of Europe's strategic debates, what does a more genuinely pan-European foreign policy look like in practice?
- How can Poland and Hungary rebuild practical dialogue, and what role can Germany play in supporting a more cohesive Central Europe?
- How can Central Europe drive European unity on Ukraine, NATO, energy resilience, competitiveness, enlargement and Europe's wider global role?
- As Washington's commitments are questioned and Beijing's influence grows, what does European strategic autonomy actually mean in practice and at what cost?
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