BROOKINGS - by Constanze Stelzenmüller , Director, Center on the United States and Europe The Brookings Institution - February 18, 2026

 

February 18, 2026

Dear colleagues and friends,    Here are some random observations and opinions from this year’s exhausting, disturbing, and memorable Munich Security Conference (MSC). I am frankly still digesting it all, so make of them what you will.     Superpowers that are secure about their status don’t need to talk about saving their allies from “decline” (Secretary of State Marco Rubio) or a “near-death experience” (Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby); and I gloss over senatorial swearing and references to Europeans getting a “spanking.”   Framing the West as a Christian ethnonationalist and colonialist project (Rubio again) goes down less well with representatives from Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Australia than you might be hoping, and I have receipts. Dogwhistles to Germany’s hard right—“we do not want allies to be shackled by guilt and shame” (Rubio too)—are heard and noted by many others as well.    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz adroitly balanced self-criticism, European resolve, and Atlanticist commitment with drawing clear red lines (“the MAGA movement’s culture war is not one we share”). Where his speech fell short was on explaining exactly what Germany’s vision for a strong Europe looks like. There’s still much work to do there, and no time to be lost.    But beyond the political theater, this MSC was also surprisingly full of bustle, energy, and—warmth. So many people were talking to each other openly and just getting stuff done (very much including Europeans and Americans together); Ukrainians and the Belarusian opposition firmly part of the European family; resounding applause for Denmark and Greenland. I heard a Catholic prelate pointedly praising the Enlightenment and inclusion. Also, I’ve never seen so many Icelanders in Munich!    Our newsletter this month features 11 Brookings scholars discussing the price of peace in Ukraine ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. In our Q&A, Lynn Kuok shrewdly judges how the MSC looked from an Indo-Pacific perspective. Carlo Bastasin argues spheres of influence are untenable, Anand Menon dissects British politics, Tom Wright reviews Rubio’s “flawed diagnosis of this geopolitical moment,” and much more.     Enjoy; and always let us know if you have questions or comments.    Yours somewhat buoyantly,    Constanze Stelzenmüller  Director, Center on the United States and Europe  The Brookings Institution