Project Group
»Changing the Munich Security Conference« e.V.

Unsere Vision ist eine Münchner Konferenz für Friedenspolitik – Our Vision is a Munich Conference for Peace Policy

Denkmail

09/19/25: Denkmail No. 47 – Nonviolent defense is effective

Dear friends of peace,

The federal government immediately forged a “license for debt” for its start. Conscription, arms expenditure of up to 5% (!) of the money earned by the people in the country, and range threats of weapons determine the discussion. And it is true: The fear of further escalation is real – and understandable. And the narrative of rearmament as the only logical answer is easily grasped. And yet many feel: This doesn’t really feel good.

Peace Congress shows: Nonviolent defense is effective – and inspires people

Over Easter this year, the online congress “Peace is Possible” with over 6000 participants took place in Germany. The intention was to reach people beyond the classic peace movement and to show: Nonviolent alternatives to military rearmament exist, they are tried and tested and effective.

And indeed, this was successful. The events met with enormous interest and resulted in lively resonance, courage and a spirit of optimism. For many, it became clear for the first time or again: Security can also be created through civilian, nonviolent strategies – and it works. This was shown, among others, by Betty Bigombe, Ugandan Minister, and the nonviolent Israeli-Palestinian campaign Combatants for Peace.

What made this congress so powerful was the wide range it spanned – from international politics to concrete peace work to the awareness of a personal inner peace. Political discussions and international diplomacy often remain abstract. The desire for viable alternatives to military logic is great. When people experience themselves as capable of acting, it shows that there is not only the choice between powerless passivity or military action. Feel free to read more at https://friedenistmoeglich.de/

The social openness for this perspective is there – it is waiting to be politically taken up. At the international Munich Peace Meeting of MSKv this October, this will be taken up from the perspective and expertise of 50 peace activists from 21 countries and discussed with the Munich Security Conference. Peace is not a state – it is a decision. Join us?

Sincerely,
Gerhard Rothaupt
Guest author MSKv

09/19/25: Denkmail No. 47 – Nonviolent defense is effective Read More »

06/07/25: Denkmail No. 46 on the stationing of medium-range missiles in Germany (Berlin Appeal)

New US medium-range missiles in Germany?

Dear friends of peace,

A year ago, the then Chancellor Scholz tersely announced that the German and US governments had bilaterally agreed that the Americans would station new medium-range missiles in Germany from 2026 onwards.

These are offensive weapons of the types Standard Missiles (SM-6), cruise missiles (Tomahawk) and hypersonic weapons (Dark Eagle, 17 times the speed of sound), ranges of 1700 km up to 2800 km, conventional warheads, but in principle also nuclear-capable, under the sole command of the USA. Planning for this began in 2017, long before the Ukraine war.

In 2019, the USA announced its withdrawal from the existing INF Treaty, citing an alleged capability gap. The planned stationing is not linked to any disarmament offer.

Due to the capabilities of these weapons (extremely short warning times) and the proximity to Russia, this step represents a dangerous escalation of the arms spiral and an enormous threat, especially to Russia. In a joint declaration by Presidents Putin (Russia) and Xi (China) on 4 February 2022, the danger of a “decapitation strike” emanating from this is therefore mentioned. This also means an incalculable threat for Germany. Dr. Erich Vad, Brigadier General (ret.), therefore says: “The stationing agreement is not acceptable from a German and European point of view.”

Since this gigantic build-up has not even been discussed in the Bundestag or a resolution passed, a majority in Germany rejects the stationing (Forsa survey) and the corresponding Berlin Appeal has so far been signed by 60,000 people, a broad public discussion must be held on this threatening measure with all its implications.

If the Munich Security Conference (MSC) really wants to be an open forum for all security issues, it is essential that it be discussed there in a broad framework with proven experts from science, politics, peace work, citizens’ councils and also experienced military personnel (Erich Vad, Harald Kujat, Wolfgang Richter)! And please do not only invite those seasoned talk show participants who argue with war logic and are well-known from the media, such as Carlo Masala, Klaus Mölling, Claudia Major or Nicole Deitelhoff!

What do you think about this? We look forward to hearing your views!

With peaceful greetings
Erwin Schelbert

 

06/07/25: Denkmail No. 46 on the stationing of medium-range missiles in Germany (Berlin Appeal) Read More »

Newsletter No. 23 on the Munich Security Conference 2025

Dear friends of peace,

From February 14-16, 2025, the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) will take place at the Bayerischer Hof. This year, the event will undoubtedly be shaped by how the Trump administration aligns U.S. foreign policy and what impact this will have on NATO and the war in Ukraine. Although the new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spoke in an interview about the benefits of a multipolar world, this does not necessarily mean the end of U.S. hegemony. The brutal approach President Trump pursues has already become evident with regard to tariff policies towards Canada, Mexico, and China, and the handling of Panama and Greenland.

The war in Ukraine has been raging for almost exactly three years. The loss of life and destruction of infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as the death and injury of soldiers on both sides, remain immense. Whether the US will hold substantive talks with Russia is still unclear. So far, there have only been lip service from the American president. There can currently only be speculation about talks already taking place behind the scenes.

The war in Israel/Palestine has led to particularly high casualties and disastrous destruction on the Palestinian side. There is currently a ceasefire in place, which is being used to exchange hostages and prisoners. How this very bloody conflict will develop further is currently unclear.

The entire EU has been more noticeable in the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel/Palestine through escalation and arms deliveries than through diplomacy and de-escalation. EU states have also played virtually no mediating – and certainly no moderating – role in the regime change in Syria, which was primarily prepared by the USA over many years: arms deliveries and sanctions have seemed to be the means of choice in the EU for several years. Diplomatic initiatives are barely discernible. Individual pioneers are quickly curbed (Spain, Hungary).

It remains to be hoped that the EU – and thus also Germany – will be more committed to compromise and conflict resolution in the future. However, in view of the latest statements by EU Commission President von der Leyen, there are major doubts: she is calling for even more money for armaments and even more militarization of society.

Christoph Heusgen is to hand over the conference management to the former Norwegian Prime Minister and long-time NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the end of the MSC 2025. However, as he will now take over the office of Norwegian Finance Minister, it remains unclear when and how Stoltenberg will influence the design of the MSC.

With regard to the war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg has often not been noticed for de-escalating contributions. In October 2024, however, Stoltenberg explicitly spoke out in favor of negotiations and brought a “Finlandization”, i.e. a largely neutral status for Ukraine, into the discussion (Der Freitag, 18.10.2024).

How will Jens Stoltenberg position himself as the new head of the Munich Security Conference? What influence will he have on the orientation of the MSC in times of existing global and additionally developing regional wars and conflicts? What is Stoltenberg’s concept of “security”?

Our MSKv project group celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024. Since 2004, we have been working to ensure that the security logic at the MSC is replaced by a peace logic. Where were we able to set accents, where were we able to stimulate reflection? What has the work of our small team achieved at all? More about this in our new MSKv newspaper.

Matthias Linnemann, Member of the Board MSKv

Around the Munich Security Conference 2025

Information on events of the peace movement, our association’s activities at the MSC 2025, and our current project newspaper can be found via this link

 

 

Newsletter No. 23 on the Munich Security Conference 2025 Read More »

Thinkmail No. 45 on the MSC publication “But NATO – 10 popular myths about Putin’s war against Ukraine”

Dear friends of peace,

the Munich Security Conference (MSC) publishes well-founded publications to present the military-based foreign and security policy of the NATO states. Conference Director Christoph Heusgen pointed out to us in our last conversation the recent publication “Standard Deviation,” which deals with double standards and double morals of the “West.” And that in an astonishingly critical way for the MSC, even if the violations of the values of the UN Charter are not named with sufficient specificity.

The publication “But NATO – 10 popular myths about Putin’s war against Ukraine” is quite different, both in terms of presentation and content. It is probably intended to be a kind of polemic against the myths and conspiracy theories of extremists and populists, who bring these up in “the emotionally charged discussions.” According to the authors, politics and the public are “not yet practiced in dealing with war,” hence the “Zeitenwende on tour” campaign, for whose accompaniment this publication was written.

To ensure that this practice in dealing with war is as effective as possible, the publication uses a clear black-and-white representation: Each of the 10 myth claims is dualistically opposed to what is correct. One and a half pages of clarification with assertions and also emotional statements are sufficient for this, all with little and questionable reference to sources (e.g. newspaper articles). It seems that it is that simple!

The fact that a war always has extremely complex backgrounds, a conflict genesis that is often not even historically worked through, and that a schematic friend-enemy scheme is unsuitable without considering multi-layered influencing factors and different actors, seems actually trivial. Especially in a conflict that is related to the constellation of nuclear world powers. The meanwhile dominant “Zeitenwende narrative,” constantly repeated by Western politics and the media, therefore by no means represents the irrefutable truth and can equally be regarded as a myth.

At the MSC, an in-depth discussion of these connections, fact-based and with rational argumentation and with the inclusion of different points of view, would have to be conducted in order to counter the myths of any provenance.

What do you think? Do you think such a discussion makes sense? We look forward to hearing your opinion!

With peaceful greetings
Erwin Schelbert

Thinkmail No. 45 on the MSC publication “But NATO – 10 popular myths about Putin’s war against Ukraine” Read More »

09/04/2024: Denkmail No. 44 – An uninhabitable Earth or a “Century of Tolerance” (R.D. Precht)?

Dear friends of peace,

At our first meeting with MSC Director Ambassador Christoph Heusgen in March 2022, it became clear that he – especially as a former representative of Germany on the UN Security Council – is greatly concerned with the norms of international law and a value-oriented international policy.

Richard David Precht addresses the question of how a value-led foreign policy can be effective in his current book “Century of Tolerance.” He joins the appeals of scientists that preventing climate catastrophe must become the main topic of politics so that people can still lead a life worth living on Earth in the 22nd century. This requires a joint effort by humanity, which is existentially necessary. We can no longer afford another century of escalation, armaments, and world wars! It would be the end of human life.

Precht questions the claims of a “systemic rivalry” between the West and China and the “struggle of democracies against autocracies.” He points out how easily we fall into friend-enemy thinking – us, the good guys, against the evil others – and how selectively we evaluate autocratic regimes, depending on whether they cooperate with us, the West. And Precht emphasizes how little the preaching of “Western values” can convince, especially in the Global South, when this West itself has so often not adhered to these norms – and does not adhere to them! All too often, the West pretends to have values where it is really about its own interests. Instead, a look at the common value foundation of cultures – e.g. “Global Ethos” according to Hans Küng – and global cooperation on an equal footing would be necessary.

I believe that with his theses – only touched upon here – Precht could make an important contribution on the stage of the MSC next February. I would like to inform Mr. Heusgen of this during our online meeting next week.

What do you think of this proposal?

Sincerely,

Thomas Mohr
Chairman Project Group “Changing the Munich Security Conference” e.V.
Chairman gewaltfrei grün e.V.

09/04/2024: Denkmail No. 44 – An uninhabitable Earth or a “Century of Tolerance” (R.D. Precht)? Read More »

July 8, 2024: Newsletter No. 43 – The Peace Report 2024 – Serving the Logic of War?

Dear friends of peace,

“World Without a Compass” is the title of the new Peace Report (FGA) by the four leading peace research institutes. That, at least, appears to be a very accurate analysis.

It is certainly correct and important to note that the year 2023 recorded a sad record in wars and conflicts, an insane peak of 2.4 trillion dollars in worldwide armaments spending, and was also the climatologically hottest year to date.

Not enough: On Europe’s doorstep, two senseless, murderous wars are raging in Ukraine and Gaza, in which we are also involved.

In this situation, shouldn’t peace research provide a clear impetus for an end to violence, an indispensable, clear guide to peace that requires a radical departure from the previous logic of war? Because violence, hatred, and rearmament only ever provoke a spiral of new violence?

Instead, the report’s recommendations state: “To enable negotiations in the war in Ukraine, military support for Ukraine must be sustainably guaranteed and increased.” And since the USA is expected to reduce its support, the demand is: “Europe must compensate for this decline, and that also means it must rapidly increase its armaments capacities.”

This reflects the same military security thinking that has been proclaimed for years at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) by the leading representatives of highly armed states. Its head, Christoph Heusgen, sets the tone: “We must return to a certain logic, as we had in the Cold War,” and he believes he must urge Western states to “expand their military support for Ukraine,” stating that the West must “go all out” with its military aid.

This fits into the general political and societal war hysteria of a so-called “Zeitenwende” (turning point). Sociologist Andreas Reckwitz sees in this an “increasing friend-foe thinking,” “everywhere there is a new culture of mercilessness.”

Should we still uphold our earlier demand to prominently discuss the FGA’s recommendations at the MSC? Or is it precisely now that we should?

What do you think about this? We look forward to hearing your views!

With peaceful regards
Erwin Schelbert
Founding Member of MSKverändern e.V.
Study Group for Peace Research

July 8, 2024: Newsletter No. 43 – The Peace Report 2024 – Serving the Logic of War? Read More »

12/10/2023: Denkmail No. 40

Dear peace activists,

“A highly armed army, ever more isolation and surveillance, does not provide more security for Israel. That is the lesson of the terrible terror of October 7,” according to an ARD commentary from October 25, 2023.

The Combatants for Peace, former fighters from Israel and Palestine, state: “As part of this centuries-old violent conflict, we know its price and futility. More than ever in the past, we assert today: There is no military solution to the conflict; violence begets violence; revenge fuels revenge.”

Gideon Levy of the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz expressed this in the Tagesthemen interview on November 7, 2023: “There is only a perspective for the future if the international community turns to Israel and the Palestinians to say, ‘Enough is enough. Now is the time for a solution.’ You need something that is fundamentally just for the Palestinians as well. Otherwise, we will never be safe.”

Russia is also currently failing with its war in Ukraine due to its military security logic. However, Ukraine and NATO have also failed to ensure lasting security through further expansion of NATO.

However, we can learn from the experiences in the Middle East, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Mali, as well as from positive experiences in Kenya, Somalia and elsewhere.

Germany should use its power for the sustainable overcoming of the spirals of trauma and violence through joint security structures – in the Middle East in the form of a Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Middle East (KSZMNO).

As the Rethinking Security initiative, we have published these and other impulses “Rethinking Security Structures” in a current paper, which can be found on our homepage sicherheitneudenken.de.

We look forward to your approval and/or your suggestions: Do you also think that these impulses would enrich the MSC? Please send an email to vorstand@mskveraendern.de

With warm greetings,

Ralf Becker

Coordinator of the Rethinking Security Initiative

12/10/2023: Denkmail No. 40 Read More »

2024-03-20: Thought Mail No. 41

“We refuse to be enemies”

Dear MSKv Interested Parties,

Imagine this:
From two ethnic groups in a confined space, after more than a century of fighting as enemies over
land and recognition, “connected” by growing hatred, women and men
approach each other, shake hands, bury the hatchet, make friends!
In the Israeli-Palestinian organization Combatants for Peace, you will find these
people:
Former IDF soldiers together with Palestinian fighters – both sides with blood on their
hands – exchange views on their own history and that of their respective cultures, which
taught them to hate the others.
Exemplary here are the co-founders of Combatants for Peace: Rami Elhanan, a Jewish
Israeli, and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian fighter. Both have lost their daughters through
acts of violence by the opponent: Rami’s 14-year-old daughter was killed in a suicide bombing
by Hamas – an act of retaliation against a new settlement in East Jerusalem – in 1993;
Bassam’s 10-year-old daughter Abir was fatally hit by a
rubber bullet fired by the Israeli border police on her way to school in 1997.
What helped the two men to change direction, to find the path to peace?
Bassam had time in prison – for throwing stones at Israeli tanks – to understand
Israeli society and realized that the shooter himself was “a victim of his
education, his society, the Israeli occupation regime” and that acts of revenge
never alleviate the pain.
For Rami, who had only served as a tank mechanic in the IDF, his
basic attitude towards humanity and justice had already prepared the ground on which an energy of powerful resistance could grow through
anger and pain and be used against the hostile
trend of leading political circles in Israel. He, too, does not see
retaliation, but conversation, the sharing of fear and grief as a path to peace.
In the group, they have learned to listen to each other, to see themselves reflected in the other, to feel the other’s pain
.
And they have realized:
Only by being open to the other side, by being willing to understand the other, can the
vicious cycle of retaliation be broken.
How about inviting the Combatants for Peace to the Munich Security Conference?

With kind regards,
Mechthild Schreiber
Member of the Board of the Project Group
“Changing the Munich Security Conference” e.V.

2024-03-20: Thought Mail No. 41 Read More »

06/25/2024: Thought Mail No. 42 – “War always begins in the minds”

Dear Colleagues,

If this statement is true, then the rapidly increasing militarization, as is happening worldwide, most recently at the Munich Security Conference, is certainly not the path to a peaceful future. Only jointly negotiated peace in all conflicts can establish true peace and thus security. How can this pacifism finally find its way into our thinking?

A thought experiment: Let’s just imagine that the Gaza war, with its boundless destruction and the unbearable loss of tens of thousands of human lives, is forever the last war between Israel and the Palestinians!

With international support, both peoples learn together to overcome the deep hatred (in projects such as Combatants for Peace, Rabbis for Human Rights, dialogue project Transaidancy), thereby perceiving the other, above all, in their pain as a human being. The traumatic experiences of Shoah and Nakba can become a bridge for each other.

“If you feel pain, you are alive. If you feel the pain of the other, you are human.”
(by Osama Ellewat, Combatants for Peace).

Because – according to Jeremy Milgram, Rabbis for Human Rights – “the only way to secure peace is to share it with others.” Perhaps it is now truly a radical act, after October 7, for Jews and Palestinians to approach each other, shake hands, and embark on the path to a peaceful future by beginning an extremely arduous reconciliation process.

At the same time, justice, human rights, and international law must become the fundamental principle: An upgraded UN as a protective body for all of humanity would stand for this strength of law (instead of the violence of the stronger).

Radical thinking? In any case, a challenging, courageous task.

However, a peace agenda of this kind probably requires an MSC with new content and different participants!

What do you think?

In solidarity
Christoph Steinbrink
Guest author for MSKv

06/25/2024: Thought Mail No. 42 – “War always begins in the minds” Read More »

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