THINKING BIG WITH Anne-Marie Slaughter

From climate, digital or security – what structures for global cooperation will emerge in a post-Merkel era and Biden presidency? How can we move beyond brute force tactics such as tariffs or legal harassment to enmesh a recalcitrant Russia or combative China into networks of an open international order? In an increasingly connected and networked world of both state and global actors, Anne-Marie Slaughter argues that the most important division between states and peoples in this century will not be democracy versus non-democracy, but open (to ideas, information, people, goods and services, and digital connections) versus closed. She will argue that – in contrast to those that favour a concert of global powers taking over – Europe is uniquely placed to advance a new blueprint for global cooperation.

Anne-Marie Slaughter is hailed among political circles for her strategic foresight on the transformative world of networks. A distinguished scholar and prolific author, she is currently CEO of New America. Before that she was director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State, the first woman to hold that position.

ECFR’s new series THINKING BIG WITH aims to go beyond the obvious and immediate. It rather means to force us to look at big, bold, counterintuitive ideas that have the potential to fundamentally reshape Europe’s role in a geopolitical world over the next decades. Bringing together the brightest thinkers and surprising voices, the series aims to unlock political creativity to inspire ideas for a strong Europe in a post-corona world.