Havel stage | The Central European Momentum: Fixing Europe's Role in Global Rupture

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. Anita Orbán, Deputy PM & Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hungary Radosław Sikorski, Deputy PM & Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany Led by: Tom Nuttall, Head of Berlin Bureau, The Economist