Cooperation or Confrontation: International partnerships vs. my country first (in German)

International law and international cooperation are increasingly under attack. More and more countries are pursuing national interests, freely following the motto ‘my country first’. The global rise of populist parties and authoritarian styles of government is reinforcing this trend – with consequences for the international community: joint efforts to tackle global challenges are stalling, and international conflicts are on the rise.  At the same time, a new form of economic protectionism is gaining ground, as evidenced, among other things, by the current customs policy of the United States. This jeopardises the advantages of international free trade that have been built up over many decades. At the same time, countries such as China, India and Russia are offering new economic options for countries in the Global South, shifting geopolitical and economic power relations.

At the Dresden Forum for International Politics 2026, we will discuss with high-ranking experts from politics and academia how Germany and Saxony can and should position themselves in this challenging field of tension between cooperation and confrontation. 

Panel guests

Prof. Sigmar Gabriel, former Vice-Chancellor

Michael Kretschmer, Minister-President of the Free State of Saxony

Prof. Dr. Anne Peters, LL.M. (Harvard), Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law