Munich – ESI on the strategic value of integration at Munich Security Conference side event

12 February 2026
Munich. Photo: flickr/barnyz
Munich. Photo: flickr/barnyz

ESI’s Gerald Knaus gave a keynote speech at a panel organized by the Corps Suevia, Germany’s oldest student society, in Munich. The event took place during the Munich Security Conference, and thus focused heavily on maintaining European Security amidst the rise of nationalism in both the US and Russia.

In his speech, Gerald examined Europe’s post-Cold War geopolitics through a security perspective. Doing so, Gerald argued, leads to two important conclusions. Firstly, European integration has been an unprecedentedly successful security architecture to prevent conflict. Although violence has erupted on the continent’s periphery – from Kosovo to the ongoing war in Ukraine – war within the EU has become unimaginable. Second, he highlighted the role of transatlantic deterrence. Through the collective defence commitments of NATO, states such as Poland and the Baltic countries have been shielded from Russia, enabling them to pursue stability, reform, and economic growth.

However, Gerald also argued that this security order is under more strain than at any moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Under Putin’s leadership, an imperial Russia seeks to collapse the European project through a combination of military force and hybrid pressure. In Gerald’s view, responding to this threat requires renewed strategic clarity: European governments must defend the security framework built around the EU and NATO with determination and confidence, working towards even deeper security and political integration.

Following his keynote address, Gerald participated in a panel discussion including Managing Director of defence firm Hessenmetall Dirk Pollert, Reserve Colonel and defense expert, Björn Stahlhut, Lieutenant Colonel and Senior Vice President of STARK Defense Josef Kranawetvogl.