Nournews: The annual meeting of the Munich Security Conference was held this year under the condition that the recent security incident in the city questioned Germany’s ability to ensure domestic security. Meanwhile, reviewing the main topics of the meeting and the composition of the participants shows that the conference is still under the influence of the unilateral outlook of the West. The main topics of the conference, including the Ukraine war and the trade conflict between the U.S. and Europe, indicate the special outlook of the organizer under the condition that some of the most important global crises have been excluded.
Continuation of western unilateral policies
One of the main topics of the conference was the composition of the participants, which was mainly composed of Western countries and their allies. This issue has raised questions about the conclusiveness of the conference in reviewing the security challenges of the world. Focus on the Ukraine war, in the absence of a representative from Russia, was an indication of its one-sided outlook. Western countries at the conference once more emphasized the continuation of military support for Ukraine, while at the same time, the U.S. conditioned its support on economic concessions and the exploitation of the mineral resources of this country.
In addition to this topic, the trade disagreement between the U.S. and Europe was another main topic of the conference. Europe criticizes the economic policies of the U.S. while it is aligned with this country in imposing sanctions on certain countries. Such contradictions indicate the complexity of relations within the West bloc and the challenges of these countries in aligning their interests with them.
The challenge of ignoring Palestine
While the Palestine crisis is considered one of the important international security issues, the topic had no significance in Munich. The humanitarian condition in the West Bank, which is faced with serious shortages of resources and massive destructions, is still one of the main international concerns. However, the issue was excluded from the agenda of the Munich Conference, with discussions being focused on other topics.
In addition to the Gaza situation, the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the continuation of tensions in the region were among issues that had direct impacts on the security of the Middle East. But the Munich meeting was focused on other issues instead of paying attention to this matter, which shows a selective approach in reviewing the world’s challenges.
Different outlook on occupation and regional tensions
Inattention to occupation in different parts of the world was another significant issue in this year’s meeting. The end of the truce deadline in Lebanon and the necessity of the exit of occupying forces in this country, along with the continuation of military presence in parts of Syria, were among subjects that can have regional impacts. However, the meeting was not focused on these issues and instead reviewed discussions that were aligned with the foreign policies of Western countries.
In addition to that, challenges such as economic sanctions, which have caused serious problems for some countries, were not discussed very seriously at the conference. While the United Nations and some international institutions consider the sanctions as factors that increase humanitarian crises, the Munich Conference did not react to the issue.
Challenges facing the international system
The persistence of an outlook that sees the world’s issues from a special perspective is what one can infer from this year’s Munich Conference. The focus on some issues and ignoring other crises raise the question of whether the conference is really moving on the course of global security or serving the interests of certain players.
Given the developments in the international arena, it seems that a more conclusive and balanced approach is needed to review the security challenges in the world. Meetings such as Munich, if they can go beyond a limited outlook and review the key international security issues without any special direction, can play an effective role in shaping the world’s future policies.
NOURNEWS