Körber History Forum Retreat 2026

The Post-9/11 World: Over, Ongoing, or Transformed?

Vom 1. bis 2. Juni 2026 fand das Körber History Forum Retreat auf Schloss Lübbenau statt. Historiker, Politikwissenschaftler, Diplomaten und weitere internationale Expertinnen und Experten aus Medien, Militär und Politik kamen im Spreewald zusammen, um die langfristigen Folgen der Post-9/11-Ära für internationale Ordnung, Demokratie und globale Machtverhältnisse zu diskutieren.

25 Jahre nach den Anschlägen vom 11. September 2001 befindet sich die internationale Ordnung in einem tiefgreifenden Wandel. Die von den USA geprägte unipolare Weltordnung wird zunehmend herausgefordert, während neue Machtzentren an Einfluss gewinnen und lang geltende internationale Normen unter Druck geraten. Gleichzeitig werden die politischen und gesellschaftlichen Folgen westlicher Interventionen zunehmend kritischer bewertet.

Vor diesem Hintergrund standen beim diesjährigen Retreat folgende Fragen im Mittelpunkt: Wie hat die Post-9/11-Ära die internationale Ordnung verändert? Welche Auswirkungen hatten die politischen und militärischen Reaktionen auf die Anschläge auf Gesellschaften? Und welche historischen Perspektiven helfen dabei, die geopolitischen Herausforderungen der Gegenwart besser zu verstehen?

Montag, 01. Juni

16:30 – 18:00
Welcome Reception

18:00 – 18:10
Welcome Remarks

By Dr. Thomas Paulsen, Chairman of the Executive Board, Körber-Stiftung

18:10 – 19:15
The Post-9/11 World Order: Over, Ongoin, Or Transformed?

By Margaret MacMillan, Historian and Professor Emeritus at the St Antonys College, Oxford University, and by Kishore Mahbubani, Former President of the UN Security Council and Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute. Followed by a moderated discussion with Gabriele Woidelko, Head of Department History and Politics, Körber-Stiftung

19:15 – 21:30
Festive Dinner

Dienstag, 02. Juni

09:00 – 10:15
History & Politics Roundtable I – Round 1
The Unmaking of the Unipolar Moment: Whose Order Emerges?

Chaired by Lynda Chinenye Iroulo, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University in Qatar. Inputs by Angela Stent, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, by Wang Hui, Distinguished Professor Professor of Literature and History at the Tsinghua University, and by Thant Myint-U, Honorary Fellow at the Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

10:40 – 11:00
Break

11:00 – 12:00
History & Politics Roundtable I – Round 2
The Unmaking of the Unipolar Moment: Whose Order Emerges?

Inputs by Hew Strachan, Bishop Wardlaw of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, and by Faisal Devji, Beit Professor of Global and Imperial Histoy at the University of Oxford

12:00 – 13:30
Break

13:30 – 14:50
Parallel Sessions – Round 1

Main Track: History & Politics Roundtable

Peacemaking in a Multipolar World: The New Mediation Landscape

Chaired by Galip Dalay, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House and Co-Director of the Global Orders Programme at the University of Oxford, in Conversation with Majed Al Ansari, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of the State of Qatar.

Rules, Rights, and Realignments: What did the Post-9/11 Era do to Democracy?

Chaired by Galip Dalay. Input by Ana Palacio, Former Minister of Foreign Affair of Spain and Visiting Professor at the University of Georgetown, and by Dina Esfandiary, Middle East Geoeconomics Lead at Bloomberg Economics.

Side Track: Assessing Afghanistan

Comparative Experiences: Missions, Methods and Meta-Reflections

The German case by Ursula Schröder, Director of the Institute for Peace Research and Securit Policy at the University of Hamburg, and by Anna Geis, Professor for International Security and Conflict Studies at the Helmut Schmidt University.

The Dutch case by Arthur ten Cate, Professor for Contemporary Military History at the University of Groningen, and by Samuël Kruizinga, Associate Professor for Modern History & War Studies at the University of Amsterdam.

Reflections by Florian Kühn, Senior Researcher in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Gothenburg.

14:50 – 15:10
Break

15:10 – 16:25
Parallel Sessions – Round 2

Main Track: History & Politics Roundtable

Rules, Rights, and Realignments: What did the Post-9/11 Era do to Democracy?

Chaired by Galip Dalay. Input by Mary E. Sarotte, Professor of Global Affairs and Management at Yale University, and by Taha Özhan, Research Director at the Ankara Institute.

Side Track: Assessing Afghanistan

Comparative Experiences: Missions, Methods and Meta-Reflections

The Danish case by Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, Historian and Senior Researcher of Foreign Policy and Diplomacy at the Danish Institute for International Studies, and by Anders Wivel, Professor of International Relations at the University of Copenhagen.

The Norwegian case by Sunniva Engh, Professor of Modern History, University of Oslo, and Ada Nissen, Pro-Dean and Associate Professor of Modern Norwegian History at the University of Oslo.

The Finnish case by Katariina Mustasilta, Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, and Ilmari Käihkö, Associate Professor in War Studies at the University of Helsinki

Reflections by Louis Clerc, CHIOS Co-Director, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Turku, and by Haakon A. Ikonomou, CHIOS Co-director, Associate Professor, Global History at the University of Copenhagen, and Morten Rasmussen, Associate Professor, The Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

Afghanistan on the Ground – A Gender Perspective

By Orzala Nemat, Senior Associate Fellow of Terrorism and Conflict Studies at the Royal United Services Institute.

16:25 – 16:45
Break

16:45 – 17:00
Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks