How the Opportunities of 1990 Were Squandered – Andreas Rödder's Compelling Analysis

In 1990, it seemed a new era was dawning: the era of the liberal world order, peace, and democracy. Today, this order lies in ruins. How could the opportunities that arose with the end of the Cold War be squandered? Why is there war in Europe again thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall? Andreas Rödder tells the story of the lost peace of 1990 and asks what went wrong.

In the West, it was believed that after 1990, one's own values would inevitably prevail. There might be setbacks, and it might take time for the last autocracies to disappear. But there was no doubt about the direction of history. However, this was a delusion that led to hubris. Ultimately, it was not the persuasive power of ideas that gave the liberal order its effectiveness after 1990, but the geopolitical strength of the West. As this waned, authoritarian counter-models returned. Andreas Rödder narrates the history of world politics since 1990 and reveals the roots of today's world disorder. He shows that the world is not heading towards a multipolar order, as many believe, but towards a new East-West conflict, which we must prepare for if we want to assert ourselves within it.

“Rödder dissects the present, examines it, and reassembles it. The insights gained are substantial.”

Dresdner Morgenpost on “21.1”
• The book of the hour: the roots of world disorder

• In 1990, the West dreamed of a new peace order

• Instead, we now face a new era of wars and crises

• Russia, China, Iran: the new East-West conflict.