Why Europe Must Learn the Language of Power
I'm just back from another stimulating Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in Munich where all the talk was about the growing technological and political gap with the United States and China. From Machiavelli and Hobbes to Napoleon and Bismarck, Europe invented the modern concept of state power. But decades of outsourcing security to NATO and the US have left the continent dangerously rusty both in the language and execution of power. According to Marta Mucznik, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based left-leaning International Crisis Group, "projecting power is the language of today's world." And unless European politicians relearn it, Mucznik warns, that growing gap between Europe and the bipolar reality of a US-China centric world will only continue to dramatically widen.
Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Move Fast and Break the World: Jonathan Taplin on Trump as an Interregnum
So Are All Immigrants Manchurian Candidates? Peter Schweizer on How Mexico, China, and the Muslim Brotherhood Are Weaponizing Immigration
Gatsby Without the Romance: Michael Wolff on Why Trump and Epstein Are the Same Person
How to Reclaim the Internet: Olivier Sylvain on Platforms and Policy
No AI Good Guys? Andrew & Keith Ask If Altman Amodei, & Hegseth Have All Failed the Leadership Test
What Would Daniel Ellsberg Say About Iran? His Son Michael on America’s Most Famous Whistleblower
From the Muckers to the Mullahs: Christopher Clark on the Lessons of History
How To Fix Big Med: Halle Tecco and Robin Blackstone on American Healthcare and its Discontents
The Coming Storm: Odd Arne Westad Asks If We're On the Brink of World War Three
Racism as Entertainment: Rhae Lynn Barnes on Darkology and American Culture
A Chosen Land for a Chosen People? Matthew Avery Sutton on How Christianity Made America and America Remade Christianity
American Yellow Vests? Manissa Maharawal on the Fight Against Tech-Led Gentrification in San Francisco
Is Anthropic Wrong? Andrew vs. Keith on Amodei vs. Trump